Lake Tahoe avalanche survivors built makeshift tarp shelter after snow horror as California gov vows search for missing nine: Live updates

Rescue crews are desperately searching for the nine remaining skiers who are missing after a California avalanche trapped the group near Lake Tahoe.

  • 18 февраля 2026, 17:01

Rescue crews are desperately searching for the nine remaining skiers who are missing after a California avalanche trapped the group near Lake Tahoe.

A group of 15 backcountry skiers, led by Blackbird Mountain Guides, was on Castle Peak, about 40 miles from Mt. Rose, late Tuesday morning, when they were hit by a slide and a huge storm dumping heavy snow.

Six of the skiers survived by creating a makeshift shelter with a tarp, but were trapped by snow and ice and were rescued ‘with varying injuries’ on Tuesday evening, the Nevada County Sheriffs Office said.

Two of the rescued skiers were taken to a hospital for treatment.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to find the remaining skiers as mountain rescue teams battle treacherous conditions.

‘The state is coordinating an all-hands search and rescue effort with local partners and deploying resources to support the active response,’ Newsom’s office wrote on X.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for much of the northern and central Sierra Nevada, forecasting heavy snow and wind gusts up to 55mph.

Follow along for the latest updates.

Six skiers survive avalanche with makeshift shelter

Crews rescued six backcountry skiers who survived an avalanche but were trapped by its snow and ice. Nine others from their tour group remained missing.

Nevada County Sheriff's Captain Russell Green told KCRA the survivors were awaiting rescue under a makeshift shelter they created with a tarp.

'They are doing the best they can. 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,' Greene said.

The group of six was rescued 'with varying injuries' Tuesday evening, and two of them were taken to the hospital for treatment.

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Tour company's eerie video just days before monster avalanche

The tour company that organized the group of backcountry skiers who were swept away an avalanche in California warned of incoming inclement weather just two days before the storm hit.

A Blackbird Mountain Guides ski guide stationed in Mt Rose, the Tahoe's highest elevation, on Sunday revealed that there was 'atypical layering' in the snow pack.

The guide, in a post on the company's Facebook page, warned that the extended dry season impacting the area has caused faceting, a process in which snow becomes weak.

'As we move into a large storm cycle this week, pay close attention to places where faceting has been particularly strong - avalanches could behave abnormally, and the hazard could last longer than normal,' the guide said, urging snow sportsmen to 'use extra caution this week.'

But 15 skiers led by Blackbird Mountain Guides were on Castle Peak, about 40 miles from Mt Rose, late Tuesday morning when they were hit by a slide and a huge storm dumping heavy snow.

Tour company's video just days before avalanche left 9 skiers missing
Fifteen skiers were on Castle Peak, near Lake Tahoe, late Tuesday morning when they were hit by a slide and a huge storm dumping heavy snow.

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