Tahoe Avalanche Was Deadliest in US Since 1981

Eight skiers have been confirmed dead after Tuesday's avalanche near Lake Tahoe, making it one of the deadliest avalanches in US history. Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said rescuers are working to recover the bodies; one skier remains missing, SFGate reports. Authorities originally said Tuesday that 10 skiers were missing, but they later corrected the number to nine. Six skiers who survived were rescued late Tuesday in an operation that took hours because of the harsh weather conditions, the Reno Gazette Journal reports. "This is a backcountry area," Moon said. "Extreme weather conditions is an understatement."

Moon said the victims are from different states, and their families have been contacted. "We did have conversation with the families of the folks ... that are still outstanding and let them know that our mission has went from a rescue to a recovery," she said. "It's a difficult conversation to have with loved ones." The sheriff said rescuers used a snowcat to get within 2 miles of the survivors and skied the rest of the way to avoid triggering another avalanche. The AP reports that this is the deadliest avalanche in the US since 1981, when 11 climbers died on Washington's Mount Rainier.