Tahoe Avalanche Could Become One of California’s Deadliest Backcountry Disasters

As search crews continue working through brutal storm conditions near Castle Peak, the scale of the unfolding tragedy is coming into sharper focus.

Six skiers were rescued Tuesday night after being caught in a powerful avalanche in the Tahoe backcountry. Nine others remain missing as of Wednesday morning, with rescue operations dependent on dangerous weather and unstable snowpack.

If fatalities are confirmed, this single incident could mark one of the deadliest backcountry avalanche events in California history.

According to long-term avalanche records, California has recorded 13 backcountry avalanche fatalities over the past 76 years. With nine skiers still unaccounted for, that number could nearly double in one devastating storm cycle.

The slide occurred during an intense Sierra storm that prompted HIGH avalanche danger warnings, with forecasters cautioning that large natural avalanches were likely across the region. Heavy snowfall and strong winds created widespread instability in the snowpack, particularly at higher elevations.

The avalanche occurred near Donner Summit — a place etched into American history for the ill-fated Donner Party of 1846–47, one of the most tragic overland migration disasters in the nation’s past. Severe winter storms and heavy snow trapped the emigrant group in the Sierra Nevada, leading to months of suffering and loss of life. The parallels are not lost on longtime mountain residents watching this week’s storm unfold.

Rescue teams now face whiteout conditions, deep snow, and ongoing avalanche danger as the search continues. For California’s mountain community, the moment is somber. The numbers alone are staggering.

The search remains active.