Nine Skiers Missing After Lake Tahoe Avalanche

Nine backcountry skiers remained missing early Wednesday after six others were rescued in a late-night operation following an avalanche near Lake Tahoe. The group — four guides and 11 clients — was caught in the slide around 11:30 a.m. at Castle Peak, a popular backcountry area near Truckee.

They had been on a three-day expedition that began Sunday and were returning to the trailhead at the end of the trip; Blackbird Mountain Guides said the skiers had been staying at the Frog Lake huts when the avalanche struck nearby. Six skiers contacted rescue teams Tuesday afternoon using beacons and sheltered under a tarp until rescuers reached them shortly before midnight; two of those six were taken to a hospital.

Search teams have not been able to locate or make contact with the nine remaining skiers, and officials revised the total number on the trip to 15, correcting an earlier count of 16.

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