10 skiers missing after massive avalanche near site of Donner Party incident

Ten skiers were missing and another six were stranded Tuesday after a massive avalanche in Truckee, California.

According to NBC News, "An avalanche was reported in the Castle Peak area near Truckee at about 11:30 a.m., which affected a group of four mountain guides and 12 other skiers, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The sheriff’s office said at least six skiers survived the avalanche and remained at the site as of about 3:45 p.m., where they were still awaiting rescuers. The other 10 people were unaccounted for, the sheriff's office said."

Per the report, "Rescue ski teams from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and the Alder Creek Adventure Center, another local recreation and ski organization, were headed to the area try to find the six survivors."

Truckee, a Northwest California community near the Nevada state line, is well known as the site of the 1846 Donner Party incident, during which 87 settlers from Illinois were trapped by harsh weather at a lake in the area, and the dwindling survivors ate their dead to survive over the course of months before around half of them could be rescued.

This year, according to the report, "The weather in Truckee has been treacherous, with blizzard conditions impeding search and rescue efforts. The Boreal Mountain Ski Resort, which is near Castle Peak, was reporting about 30 inches of snowfall over the past 24 hours. Castle Peak is a popular backcountry skiing destination along Interstate 80."