Image Credit: Anadolu via Getty Images On Tuesday, February 17, an avalanche struck a backcountry ski group in the Castle Peak area of the Sierra Nevada, located roughly 10 miles away from Lake Tahoe near Truckee, California. The heavy slide occurred around 11:30 a.m. local time amid a major winter storm that caused heavy snow, high winds and whiteout conditions across the region. The Sierra Avalanche Center had issued a "high avalanche danger" warning hours earlier, cautioning that large slides were likely in backcountry terrain.