LAKE TAHOE, CA — A deadly avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains has killed eight skiers and left one person missing and presumed dead, according to Nevada County officials. The group was caught on Tuesday during a three-day guided backcountry trip near Lake Tahoe, in what has become the deadliest U.S. avalanche in 45 years.
Among those involved were parents, mostly mothers, of students at Sugar Bowl Academy, a private boarding and day school for competitive skiers. The school said multiple members of its community and others with close ties to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit and the backcountry skiing world died in the slide.
Authorities have not publicly identified the victims. The sheriff’s office said the recovery effort was still underway and that names were being withheld out of respect for the families affected.
Parents linked to Sugar Bowl Academy were part of the ski group
A person familiar with the rescue effort told ABC News that most of the dead and surviving victims were parents connected to the academy. The parents’ children were on winter break, according to people familiar with the situation.
Sugar Bowl Academy said it was focusing on supporting athletes, students, staff and families after the tragedy. In its statement, the school said it would continue standing with the families who lost loved ones in the months and years ahead.
The academy is a private independent school that combines boarding and day-school programs for competitive skiers. Its role in the story has drawn attention because the victims were not students on a school trip, but adults with ties to the school community.
Sheriff's office says 15 people were caught in the slide
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said 15 people were in the group when the avalanche struck at the end of the guided outing. Officials later confirmed eight deaths and said one additional person was missing and presumed dead.
Of the dead and missing, seven were women and two were men, according to the sheriff’s office. Six people survived, including four men and two women.
Rescuers helped the survivors after they sheltered under a tarp for hours while conditions remained highly dangerous, authorities said. That detail underscores how difficult the response was in the mountains after the avalanche hit.
Search crews worked in dangerous conditions after the avalanche
Emergency crews continued working to recover victims after the slide, while officials said they were still not releasing personal details about those involved. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The school also said it was not naming victims or survivors because of the impact on families. Its statement described the effort as one focused on both recovery and support for those left behind.
The recovery operation came amid the kind of severe conditions that make avalanche response especially hazardous. Authorities said the surviving skiers were brought out after hours of uncertainty in the backcountry.
The deadliest U.S. avalanche in nearly half a century
Officials described the tragedy as the deadliest avalanche in the United States in 45 years. It is second only to a 1981 avalanche on Washington’s Mount Rainier, which killed 11 people.
That comparison places the California disaster in rare historical context. Avalanches that kill multiple people are uncommon, but this one has now become one of the most severe backcountry incidents in modern U.S. history.
The scale of the loss has also focused attention on the guided trip that ended in catastrophe. Authorities said the group was near Lake Tahoe when the avalanche struck, turning a routine winter outing into a mass-casualty emergency.
Questions remain as officials withhold victim names
Even as the death toll became clear, many basic details remained private. Officials have not identified the victims, and the school said it was respecting the wishes of affected families by withholding names.
The sheriff’s office said earlier that the group had been on a three-day guided trip, but investigators have not publicly explained what triggered the avalanche. The focus now is on recovery and support for the survivors and the families of those who died.
For Sugar Bowl Academy, the impact reaches beyond the ski slopes. The school said its community would continue to be there for families in the months and years ahead, signaling a long period of grief after one of the deadliest avalanches the country has seen in decades.
