8 backcountry skiers found dead and 1 still missing after California
avalanche
[February 19, 2026]
By BROOKE HESS-HOMEIER, JULIE WATSON and JOHN SEEWER
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry
skiers near California's Lake Tahoe and were searching for one more
after they were caught in an avalanche, the nation's deadliest in nearly
half a century, authorities said Wednesday.
Authorities said the skiers had little time to react.
“Someone saw the avalanche, yelled ‘Avalanche!’ and it overtook them
rather quickly,” said Capt. Russell “Rusty” Greene, of the Nevada County
sheriff’s office.
Six were rescued six hours after the avalanche hit Tuesday morning as
they were concluding a three-day trek in Northern California’s Sierra
Nevada during a monster winter storm. The tour included four guides,
three of whom are presumed dead, authorities said.
The group was a mix of women and men between the ages of 30 and 55,
authorities said. Some of the people killed were members of the Sugar
Bowl Academy community, a private boarding school and ski and snowboard
club on Donner Summit, according to the academy. School officials did
not release the names of those killed or describe their connection to
the academy.
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said investigators would look into
the decision to proceed with the trip on Sunday despite the forecast.
That morning at 6:49 a.m., the Sierra Avalanche Center issued an
avalanche watch, indicating that large avalanches were likely in the
next 24 to 48 hours.
Hours before the avalanche hit, the center increased the watch to a
warning, which means avalanches are expected. It’s unclear if the guides
would have known about the change before they began their trek out of
the wilderness.
With one person unaccounted for, authorities' mission moved from
rescuing people to recovering bodies, Moon said.
Authorities were waiting to release the victims’ names to give the
families time.
“They’re still reeling,” Moon said. “I could not imagine what they’re
going through.”
The victims were found fairly close together, Greene said. The crews
have not yet been able to remove the victims from the mountain because
of the extreme conditions.
Three to 6 feet (91 centimeters to 1.8 meters) of snow has fallen since
Sunday. The area was also hit by subfreezing temperatures and gale force
winds. The Sierra Avalanche Center said the threat of more avalanches
remained Wednesday and left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable in
an area known for its steep, craggy cliffs.
Rescuers were guided by beacons and a cellphone in dangerous
conditions
Rescuers reached the survivors just before sunset on Tuesday.
The skiers all had beacons that can send signals to rescuers and at
least one of the guides was able to send text messages, but it wasn't
clear if they were wearing avalanche bags, which are inflatable devices
that can keep skiers near the surface, Greene said.
While they waited to be rescued, the survivors used equipment to shelter
themselves and fend off temperatures dipping below freezing. They found
three others who had died while they waited, Moon said.
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Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon updates media on rescue efforts
following an avalanche at a news conference in Nevada City, Calif.
on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)
Rescuers used a snowcat to get within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the
survivors, then skied in carefully so they didn't set off another
avalanche, the sheriff said.
One of those rescued remained hospitalized Wednesday, Moon said.
The area near Donner Summit is one of the snowiest places in the Western
Hemisphere and until just a few years ago was closed to the public. It
sees an average of nearly 35 feet (10.6 meters) of snow a year,
according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns a cluster of huts
where the group was staying near Frog Lake.
The avalanche is the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers
were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state. Each winter, 25 to 30
people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National
Avalanche Center.
It was the second deadly avalanche near California's Castle Peak this
year, after a snowmobiler was buried by one in January.
Skiers were heading for the trailhead when the avalanche struck
Greene said authorities were notified about the avalanche by Blackbird
Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, and the skiers’
emergency beacons. The sheriff’s office said Tuesday night that 15
backcountry skiers had been on the trip, not 16 as initially believed.
One skier had pulled out at the last minute, Moon said.
The skiers were on the last day of the backcountry trip and had spent
two nights in huts, said Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the
Sierra Avalanche Center.
Reaching the huts in winter takes several hours and requires backcountry
skills, avalanche training and safety equipment. Blackbird said the tour
was for intermediate-to-expert skiers.
The area near Donner Summit was closed for nearly a century before it
was reopened by the Truckee Donner Land Trust and its partners in 2020.
Donner Summit is named for the infamous Donner Party, a group of
pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped there in the
winter of 1846-1847.
When asked what went through her mind as her staff and volunteers
responded to the scene, Moon said she was hoping they would be able to
make it there safely. Once they did, she said she was “immediately
thinking of the folks that didn’t make it, and knowing our mission now
is to get them home.”
___
Watson reported from San Diego and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated
Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Trân Nguyễn in
Sacramento and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
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