Grief and shock fell on the tight-knit mountain town of Truckee last week. A blizzard that should have brought pure joy to a snow-starved region instead delivered tragedy, as nine people died near Donner Pass in the deadliest avalanche in California history.

The avalanche struck around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, just as the first full day of this winter’s biggest blizzard roared to life. The news hit the town first as a brief message: An avalanche had hit a group near Castle Peak. But by the end of the day, a fuller picture emerged: A massive avalanche had struck a guided group, and nine people were missing and presumed dead.

Truckee was in the throes of a blizzard and already on edge even before Tuesday. Two events had shocked the small town: 10 days earlier, a man had attacked a group of student-athletes in front of the town grocery store with a car, and a 15-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly firing a gun at people in a different grocery store parking lot four days before the avalanche. 

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The avalanche itself became even more heart-wrenching when the town learned it had struck a group of longtime friends, all women and mothers. The heartbreak piled on, but so did the snow, forcing the town to take it day by day as it tried to process what was happening and dig out from layers of tragedy.

Vehicles drive down state Route 28 in near-whiteout conditions during a heavy snowfall in Kings Beach, Calif., on Feb. 19, 2026.

Truckee residents gathered in the cold on Sunday, Feb. 22, for a candlelight vigil.

‘I just can’t understand it’

Snow and heavy wind were still thrashing Truckee on Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the avalanche broke, piling up on mountains and parking lots and keeping people at home shoveling snow for hours. Locals escaped the cold inside Wild Cherries Coffee House, an unofficial town square of Truckee. Most conversations were quiet attempts to process what had just happened. 

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Don't let Google decide who you trust.

A ski patroller from a nearby resort sat with his wife and in-laws who were visiting from out of town, as he told them how historic the avalanche was, even worse than the 1982 Alpine Meadows avalanche. A man sitting two tables away dressed in flannel and a Patagonia jacket leaned over and asked the ski patroller: “Why would they leave the cabins in the middle of the storm? I just can’t understand it.”

The ski patroller deadpanned a look back, a wordless message conveying what every backcountry expert knew to be true: It’s easy to question a group’s decision with the benefit of hindsight,........

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