A local ski academy also confirmed that the victims included “multiple members” of their community
A group of moms on a ski trip is reportedly among the victims of an avalanche in California that is now one of the deadliest in the state’s history.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, around 11:30 a.m. local time, authorities received a 911 call about the avalanche in the Castle Peak area in the Tahoe National Forest, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a news conference on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
The group of 15 skiers, including 11 clients and four guides, was caught in the avalanche at the conclusion of a three-day backcountry skiing trip near Lake Tahoe, according to a statement from Blackbird Mountain Guides, which organized the trip.
Initially, reports stated that nine of the group members were missing while six people survived.
Moon said on Wednesday that eight of the missing victims had been found dead. Seven of the victims were women. The remaining skier is presumed dead.
The victim identities have not been released.
Hours after Moon’s press conference, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, according to a source, that the deceased included a group of mothers whose children were on a ski team at nearby Sugar Bowl Resort.
The moms’ trip was not connected with Sugar Bowl but rather “had historically been an annual excursion of families in which the husbands would go off skiing together and then the wives would take their turn,” according to the Chronicle.
On Wednesday, Sugar Bowl Academy, a ski school affiliated with the resort, confirmed in its own statement that “multiple members of the Sugar Bowl Academy community and others with strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit, and the backcountry community” were among those killed in the avalanche.
More information about the victims was not shared by the academy, which cited family privacy.
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The Lake Tahoe area avalanche on Feb. 18, 2026.Nevada County Sheriff’s Office
“We are an incredibly close and connected community. This tragedy has affected each and every one of us,” the academy’s executive director, Stephen McMahon, said in a statement.
“The depth of support for the families whose lives have been changed forever reminds us of how special this community is. The best thing we can do is surround our athletes and families with care and support while providing the necessary space and time for grief and healing,” McMahon said.
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The avalanche rescue and recovery efforts.Nevada County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
Separately, Sheriff Moon has said that the six people who survived included two men and four women whose ages range from 30 to 55.
One of the rescued individuals was a guide, while the other five were on the tour.
Two people were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. One of those individuals had since been released from the hospital, while the other remained hospitalized.
The survivors on the trip were able to find three of the dead victims before help arrived, Moon said.
Rescuers received information through the iPhone SOS feature before reaching the group, she added.
There was an avalanche warning in effect from Tuesday at 5 a.m. until 5 a.m. Wednesday, and the guide company itself had noted the incoming storm and risk of avalanches ahead of the deadly outing.
The National Weather Service warned that “rapidly accumulating snowfall, weak layers in the existing snowpack, and gale-force winds that blow and drift snow have created dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains.”
Danger persists due to the risk of avalanches in California’s Sierra Nevada throughout the week.
In his own statement, Blackbird Mountain Guides founder Zeb Blais called the deaths “an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced.”
He said field operations were being suspended, temporarily, and noted that the guides on the trip were well credentialed.
“We ask that people following this tragedy refrain from speculating,” he said. “We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do. In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts.
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