Skiers with roots in Lake Tahoe's alpine community among 8 killed in California avalanche

Authorities say the bodies of eight backcountry skiers have been found and one remains missing after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California

TRUCKEE, Calif. -- After days of increasingly brutal conditions in California’s Sierra Nevada, a group of 15 backcountry skiers set out for home. But as they left remote huts at thousands of feet of elevation and trekked back toward the trailhead, they were slammed by a treacherous avalanche that left eight dead and one missing.

With avalanche warnings in effect through early Thursday, officials were still waiting for the powerful storm to clear so they could recover the bodies of the victims of Tuesday's avalanche, the nation’s deadliest in nearly half a century. Officials have not yet released the names.

The ski group involved has deep ties to the alpine recreation community in Lake Tahoe, including the elite Sugar Bowl Academy, which issued a statement late Wednesday mourning the loss of victims with “strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit and the backcountry community.”

It did not say how the skiers, said to range in age from 30 to 55, were connected to the school, which offers alpine and backcountry ski instruction and academics for young athletes.

“We are an incredibly close and connected community,” Sugar Bowl Academy executive director Stephen McMahon was quoted as saying in the statement. “This tragedy has affected each and every one of us.”