Eight dead, one missing in one of worst avalanche disasters in recent U.S. history

February 18, 2026

At about 11:30 a.m. on the morning of February 17, one of the worst avalanche tragedies in recent American history took place, involving a group of 15 skiers on a guided trip in remote and rugged backcountry terrain in the Castle Peak area near Truckee, California. In a recent update, eight of those skiers have been confirmed dead, with six surviving, and one still missing as of Wednesday afternoon. Three of the deceased were located by survivors awaiting rescue while the other five were located by search and rescue teams.
An initial report from the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office indicated that four of the skiers were commercial guides with 11 of those in the party being clients. A report from KCRA indicated that as of Wednesday morning, 40 inches of snow had fallen in the area since Monday with more snow on the way.

The local sheriff’s office reported that the six skiers who were confirmed to have survived the avalanche were rescued just after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening, with two of those skiers immobilized by injuries they had sustained and transported to the hospital for treatment. Of the six confirmed survivors, one was a guide and five were clients. The survivors were found sheltered in emergency equipment they had brought with them, trying to stay warm and address immediate medical concerns. One of the injured individuals was stabilized and released on Tuesday night while the other remains under hospital care per a 12:30 p.m. MT report from the sheriff’s office on Wednesday. Both individuals suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Per a statement from Blackbird Mountain Guides – the guiding company that’s involved, the group had been staying at the Frog Lake huts since February 15 and was in the process of returning to the trailhead at the conclusion of their planned three-day trip when the avalanche occurred. The trip was initially scheduled for 16 people, though one person backed out last-minute, per the sheriff’s office. The group ultimately consisted of nine women and six men. Of those rescued, there was one man and five women. Additional identifying information of those involved has not yet been released.

Following the avalanche, multiple rescue groups teamed up for an immediate response coordinated through the California Office of Emergency Management. Roughly 50 skilled individuals were deployed amid the extreme winter weather conditions involving heavy snow and strong winds with the area of the rescue still considered avalanche prone. A key priority related to the rescue effort was making sure those entering the field were as safe as possible.

Per a 12:30 p.m. MT press conference hosted by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, the search for the remaining missing individual continues. The main complicating factor is weather, not resources.

This appears to be the deadliest avalanche incident that’s taken place in the United States since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Washington’s Mount Rainer. The death toll of the Tuesday slide already surpasses that of the Alpine Meadows avalanche of 1982, which appears to be the next-deadliest skiing-related avalanche to have taken place in American history. Occurring on March 31, this unexpected avalanche struck Alpine Meadows ski area – also in the Truckee area, killing seven. Another notable mass-casualty avalanche took place in terrain around Colorado’s Loveland Pass in 2013, killing five snowboarders.

The deadliest avalanche disaster in U.S. history took place in 1910, when a slide swept two trains into a canyon in Wellington, Washington, killing 96 people. Denver Gazette