‘They were mothers, wives, friends’: how a ski trip turned deadly in the California mountains

Although more than 66in had fallen over three days, the storm at the center of this tragedy was not extraordinary by Sierra standards. Photograph: Héctor Amezcua/Sacramento Bee/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

The ringing of a phone echoed through the Nevada county, California, sheriff’s office just before noon on 17 February.

The 911 call brought devastating news: an avalanche had occurred on nearby Castle Peak – a 9,110ft (2,780-meter) mountain north of the Donner summit in the Lake Tahoe area. A group of backcountry skiers had been on the mountainside, returning home from a three-day expedition, during a heavy winter storm. While six had survived, more than half their group was missing.