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Authorities are sharing new details about how six people survived a backcountry avalanche near Lake Tahoe, California
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Authorities said survivors spent hours in the wind, snow and cold, and a tour guide was able to send text messages while everyone waited for help
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Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said conditions on the mountain were “horrendous” during the search for survivors and victims
New details are emerging about how six people survived a backcountry avalanche that killed at least eight people.
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a press conference the next day that authorities received an alert about an avalanche in the Green Mountains area of the Tahoe National Forest around 11:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, February 17.
Fifteen skiers, including 11 clients and four guides, were returning from a three-day backcountry ski trip when they became involved in the slide, according to a statement from authorities and Blackbird Mountain Guides.
Capt. Russell “Rusty” Green of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office told reporters Wednesday, Feb. 18, that when the slide began, a member of the group yelled “Avalanche!” before they were caught up “very quickly.”
Moon announced on Wednesday that six people survived and eight were found dead. No one has been found yet.
The survivors spent hours in the ice, snow and cold waiting for help to arrive. Moon said rescuers received information through the iPhone SOS function before reaching the rescue team.
Hannah Ruhoff/Sacramento Bee/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
At a news conference Wednesday, Green said skiers have a special beacon that sends an alert to rescuers. He added that at least one tour guide was able to send text messages while the team waited for help to arrive.
Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that survivors also used equipment to take shelter when temperatures dropped below freezing, The Associated Press reported.
She said rescuers reached the group shortly after 5:30 pm local time on Tuesday. By then, survivors had found three people dead, she added.
A snowcat was used to drag survivors from the scene, according to the sheriff. Both were later taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities have not released the identities of those killed in the landslide, and Moon said many of them were still “shocked” by the tragedy.
“I can’t imagine what they’re going through,” the sheriff added after noting the victims came from “multiple” states.
Nevada County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
Moon said the avalanche occurred in a “very remote, rugged area” in the backcountry, and he described conditions on the mountain during the search as “scary.”
The conditions hampered efforts to find the avalanche’s final victim, the sheriff added.
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An avalanche warning is in effect from 5 a.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday.
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