Tahoe Avalanche Kills Nine Skiers
All nine missing skiers in a Tahoe, California avalanche have been confirmed dead, including experienced tour guides. The tragic incident highlights the critical importance of avalanche safety and decision-making in backcountry winter conditions.
- The avalanche occurred on February 17, 2026, near Castle Peak, north of Lake Tahoe, and involved a group of 15 backcountry skiers on a guided trip with Blackbird Mountain Guides. The group consisted of 11 clients and four guides who were on the final day of a three-day trip, staying at the remote Frog Lake huts. - This event is the deadliest avalanche in modern California history, surpassing the 1982 Alpine Meadows avalanche that killed seven people. With nine fatalities, it is also one of the deadliest in the United States since 1981. - The victims included six female clients and three male professional guides. The clients were described as experienced, well-trained backcountry skiers and were mothers, wives, and friends from the Bay Area, Idaho, and the Truckee-Tahoe region. - A significant winter storm preceded the avalanche, with the Sierra Avalanche Center issuing an avalanche watch and later a warning for the area, noting the potential for large and dangerous slides. The region had seen 3 to 6 feet of new snow, with snowfall rates reaching 3 to 4 inches per hour in some places. - The slide was classified as a D2.5, approximately the length of a football field, and was triggered by the failure of a persistent weak layer in the snowpack under the heavy new snow. - Six members of the party, five clients and one guide, survived the avalanche. They sheltered under a tarp in severe weather for hours before being rescued by a response team of about 50 people. - Both the Nevada County Sheriff's Office and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) have opened investigations into the incident, with the latter looking into potential workplace safety violations by the guide company.
