An avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains has killed at least eight skiers, making it the fourth deadliest avalanche in US history. The slide occurred on Tuesday near Castle Peak, close to Lake Tahoe, an area where deadly avalanches are not uncommon.
The Sierra Avalanche Center has recorded at least 50 avalanches in the Lake Tahoe area since September 2025. As of Wednesday, the region ranks four out of five on the North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale, indicating a high risk. Avalanches have claimed lives in the area in six of the past ten years, including a snowmobiler earlier this year near Castle Peak.
Historically, the deadliest US avalanche was in Wellington, Washington, in 1910, killing 96. The second and third deadliest occurred in Alaska and on Mount Rainier. Tuesday’s avalanche is now the fourth deadliest, according to the National Avalanche Center.
Chris Feutrier, forest supervisor of the Tahoe National Forest, said the avalanche resulted from a persistent weak layer of snow covered by a large load of fresh snow. That weak layer remains, having been reloaded with another three feet of snow. Avalanches occur when fresh snow falls on an icy layer, causing shearing.
