Nine skiers missing, 6 trapped after north California mountains avalanche

Rescuers battle blizzard to save six skiers found trapped after avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the western US.

Rescue teams pushed through fierce blizzard conditions to reach six skiers trapped following a major avalanche in the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains in California in the western United States.

Nine other skiers from the same group were missing, while the threat of more avalanches remained high in the mountain range in northern California amid a powerful winter storm, the Nevada County sheriff’s office said on Tuesday.

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“It’s going to be a slow, tedious process because they also have to be very careful accessing the area due to the fact that the avalanche danger is still very high,” Captain Russell Greene of the sheriff’s office said.

Rescue teams have yet to reach the avalanche site, he said.

The stricken group consisted of  ski guides and clients. At least six survived the avalanche and remain at the site awaiting rescue, while the others were unaccounted for, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The sheriff’s office said Tuesday night that there were 15 skiers on the trip — not 16 as initially believed.

Greene said authorities learned of the avalanche through notifications from the ski tour company guiding the group, as well as activations from the emergency beacons carried by the skiers themselves.

Members of a rescue team in Soda Springs, California, on Tuesday [Handout/Nevada County Sheriff’s Office via AP]

Speaking to a local television station, Greene noted that the six survivors were in contact with officials via their beacons, which allow for text messaging.

“They are doing the best they can,” he said.

“They have taken refuge in an area, they have made up a makeshift shelter with a tarp and are doing everything they can to survive and wait for rescue,” he added.

The incident occurred in the Castle Peak area near Frog Lake, northwest of Lake Tahoe, where search-and-rescue efforts involving dozens of responders facing extreme weather and high avalanche risk are under way, according to reports.

California is being walloped this week by a powerful winter storm bringing treacherous thunderstorms, strong winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.

Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe have fully or partially closed amid the relentless extreme weather and threats of avalanches.

The National Weather Service said parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains above 3,500 feet (1,000 metres) could see up to 8 feet (2.4 metres) of snow over the next 48 hours, with gusts of wind as strong as 55mph (88km/h).