Six Skiers Rescued After Avalanche Near Lake Tahoe; Search Continues for Nine Missing Skiers

Truckee, California — Rescue teams have successfully extracted six surviving backcountry skiers from the site of a major avalanche in the Castle Peak area northwest of Lake Tahoe, but nine others from the same guided group remain missing as of Wednesday morning, February 18, 2026.

The Nevada County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the incident involved a party of 15 people—four professional guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides and 11 clients—on the final day of a three-day backcountry skiing trip. The group had been staying at the Frog Lake huts since February 15 and was heading back to the trailhead when the avalanche struck around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 17, in steep terrain near Frog Lake at approximately 8,200 feet elevation.

Late Tuesday, rescuers located and rescued the six survivors, who had sheltered in place amid blizzard conditions using a makeshift tarp shelter. They were extracted via ski teams and SnoCat vehicles despite near-zero visibility, high winds, heavy snowfall (up to 40 inches in the region since Monday), and ongoing high avalanche risk. No injuries or fatalities among the rescued have been reported at this time.

Search operations for the nine unaccounted-for individuals continue into Wednesday, involving a total of 46 first responders from agencies including the Nevada County Sheriff's Search & Rescue, Placer County Sheriff's Office, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, Washoe County teams, and Truckee Fire. Efforts are hampered by persistent storm conditions, with the Sierra Avalanche Center maintaining a HIGH avalanche warning for the Central Sierra Nevada—including the Lake Tahoe region—through at least early Wednesday, warning of large to very large avalanches on unstable snowpack.

Blackbird Mountain Guides issued an update on its website Tuesday evening, stating: "Blackbird Mountain Guides is currently responding to a serious backcountry incident involving an avalanche that occurred this morning, February 17, near the Frog Lake huts in the Castle Peak area... The leadership team... is working in full coordination with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office and Nevada County Search and Rescue to support the ongoing rescue operation." The company noted it is providing regular updates to emergency contacts of those affected and has deferred further public communications to the sheriff's office.

The avalanche occurred during one of the most severe winter storms in recent years for the Sierra Nevada, which has caused closures of Interstate 80 and Highway 50 at the summits and widespread hazardous travel.

The Nevada County Sheriff's Office described the operation as highly dangerous and ongoing, with no confirmed information yet on the status of the missing skiers. Authorities continue to urge the public to avoid all backcountry travel in avalanche-prone areas.The Santa Monica Observer will provide further updates as new information is released by officials.