NEVADA CITY, Calif. (AP) — Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry skiers and are searching for one more who is still missing after an avalanche in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, authorities said Wednesday, making it the deadliest U.S. avalanche in nearly half a century.

Authorities have told the families the mission has moved from rescue to recovery, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said during a news conference.

Six others from the same group of skiers were rescued Tuesday. They were on a three-day trek in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada as a monster winter storm pummeled the West Coast.

While they waited to be rescued, the six survivors used equipment to shelter themselves and were trying to stay warm, Moon said. The survivors located three others who had died, Moon said.

Rescuers used a snowcat to get within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the survivors, then skied in carefully so they didn't set off another avalanche, the sheriff said.

The avalanche is the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier, Washington.

Crews faced treacherous conditions during the search after the avalanche struck Tuesday morning. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area of the Sierra Nevada after a 911 call reporting the avalanche had buried 15 skiers.

One of those rescued after several hours of searching remained in a hospital Wednesday, Moon said. Heavy snow and the threat of additional avalanches slowed the rescue effort in the mountains near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe.

The area near Donner Summit is one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere and until just a few years ago was closed to the public. It sees an average of nearly 35 feet (10 meters) of snow a year, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns a cluster of huts where the group was staying near Frog Lake.

The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that the risk of avalanche remains high and advised against travel in the area. Multiple feet of snowfall and gale force winds in recent days left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, and more snow was predicted to fall, the center said.

Source: WPLG