Eight dead, one still missing after Castle Peak avalanche near Truckee

Search and rescue crews head into whiteout conditions near Castle Peak in Truckee, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 17 Photo: Nevada County Sheriff’s Office

Updated Feb. 18, 2026 at 12:37 p.m. – Eight skiers have been found dead and one remains missing after an avalanche struck a guided backcountry ski group in the Castle Peak area near Donner Pass on Tuesday, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office announced. Six survivors were rescued Tuesday evening. The operation has transitioned from a rescue to a recovery mission.

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a press conference Wednesday that a group of 15 people with Blackbird Mountain Guides were returning from a three-day trip to the Frog Lake huts when the avalanche hit at approximately 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. One member of the original 16-person group had backed out before the trip.

The group consisted of nine women and six men between 30 and 55 years old.

Extreme weather conditions, including whiteout visibility and heavy snowfall, severely hampered the response. Interstate 80 was closed at the time of the rescue.

Authorities first learned of survivors through iPhone SOS emergency signals. By 5:30 p.m., a SnoCat team reached within two miles of the scene and located six survivors who had taken shelter. Among the six, one was a guide and five were clients. One man and five women survived.

Two of the six survivors were unable to walk and had to be transported out. The four others were able to reach the SnoCat on their own. Two of the survivors were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Three of the deceased were found by the survivors at the avalanche site. Eight of the nine unaccounted-for skiers have now been found dead. One skier has not been located due to ongoing dangerous weather and safety conditions.

Moon said Blackbird Mountain Guides has been cooperative with the investigation and responded alongside the rescue team.

Original Report : TRUCKEE, Calif. — Six backcountry skiers were rescued Tuesday evening after an avalanche in the Castle Peak area near Donner Pass, with nine others still unaccounted for as dangerous weather impeded search efforts overnight.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said the avalanche struck at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 17, involving a group of 15 skiers, four guides and 11 clients. The total was initially reported as 16 but later revised to 15.

The six survivors sheltered in place for hours at the avalanche site while a 46-person rescue team battled what the sheriff’s office called “highly dangerous” conditions to reach them. Rescue teams deployed from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center, including a SnoCat team. Two of the six were transported to a hospital; the other four were evaluated on scene by Truckee Fire.

The Sierra Avalanche Center reported the slide northeast of Castle Peak and north of Frog Lake at roughly 8,200 feet, rating the destruction at D2.5 — a large to very large avalanche. The center had issued an avalanche warning effective 5 a.m. Tuesday through 5 a.m. Wednesday, warning that large avalanches were expected across backcountry terrain.

Separately, Blackbird Mountain Guides issued a statement saying the company is “currently responding to a serious backcountry incident” near the Frog Lake huts in the Castle Peak area. The Truckee-based company said a group of 12 clients and four guides had been at the huts since Feb. 15 and were returning to the trailhead when an incident occurred. The company said it is in contact with emergency contacts of those affected.