Authorities said the deadly avalanche was the size of a football field.
By Catholics for Catholics
In one of the deadliest avalanches in the last four decades, eight skiers died and one is believed deceased after an avalanche took place in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California on Feb. 17. Rescuers saved six members of the ski group.
According to The Daily Wire, a 15-member skiing party, four guides and eleven clients, were submerged in a storm- activated avalanche near the Castle Peak area of Truckee, California, about 10 miles north of Lake Tahoe, at about 11:30 a.m. Pacific time on Feb. 17.
Returning from a three-day backcountry excursion at Frog Lake huts near Castle Peak, the skiers were hit by a gargantuan avalanche about the size of a football field.
Six of the skiers clustered in a makeshift shelter made out of tarpaulin sheets. They communicated with rescuers by radio beacon and text messaging until they were found.
Search and rescue ski teams from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Alder Creek Adventure Center were deployed to assist, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities stressed that rescue efforts were being performed cautiously due to ongoing avalanche danger, heavy snowfall, and near-zero visibility.
Castle Peak, a popular backcountry skiing destination along Interstate 80 near Lake Tahoe, received intense snowfall as a conveyor belt of winter storms moved through northern California. Boreal Mountain Ski Resort reported about 30 inches of snow in the prior 24 hours, while forecasts say additional heavy snowfall is expected through Thursday.
Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry skiers and are searching for one more who is still missing after an avalanche in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, authorities said Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/79Q5XbiZaj
— KTLA (@KTLA) February 19, 2026
On Tuesday, avalanche danger across the region was rated high. In a bulletin sent before the reported avalanche, the Sierra Avalanche Center cautioned against travel in or near avalanche terrain, stating the likelihood of a widespread natural avalanche cycle.
“Large avalanches may run through treed areas,” the center said, urging anyone attempting travel in non-avalanche terrain to ensure no steep slopes were connected above or adjacent to their route.
Scientists described that the avalanche took place during some of the worst winter conditions in years. According to researchers at the Central Sierra Snow Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, snowfall totals had already exceeded 28 inches in parts of the central Sierra by Tuesday morning, with another two to three feet expected by Wednesday night.
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