TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed in a California avalanche four days ago, authorities said Saturday, concluding a harrowing operation hindered by intense snowfall.
A search team reached the bodies of eight victims and found one other who had been missing and presumed dead since Tuesday’s avalanche on Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe. The ninth person who was missing was found “relatively close” to the other victims, but it was impossible to see them because there were white-out conditions on Tuesday when the others were located.
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A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter flies toward the Castle Peak area as recovery efforts for a group of missing skiers continue in Truckee, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A member of the U.S. Army and a member of the California Highway Patrol speak on the runway at the Truckee Tahoe Airport as recovery efforts for a group of missing skiers continue in Truckee, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter takes off from the Truckee Tahoe Airport as recovery efforts for a group of missing skiers continue, continue in Truckee, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A California Highway Patrol search and rescue crew flies over a forest as recovery efforts for a group of missing skiers continue Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Truckee, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
The recovery efforts had been put on hold for several days because of heavy snow and the threat of more avalanches.
Helicopters with the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol recovered the bodies on Saturday morning by hoisting them from the mountain and bringing them to nearby snowcats — trucks outfitted for transportation on the snow.
Officials said on Friday that they were using water to break up the snow in the area as avalanche mitigation work, a technique that is designed to intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk when rescue crews go in.
The mitigation and search efforts have included California Highway Patrol air operations, Nevada County Sheriff’s search and rescue, Tahoe Nordic search and rescue, the utility company Pacific Gas & Electric, the Sierra avalanche center and others.
A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter flies toward the Castle Peak area as recovery efforts for a group of missing skiers continue in Truckee, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A member of the U.S. Army and a member of the California Highway Patrol speak on the runway at the Truckee Tahoe Airport as recovery efforts for a group of missing skiers continue in Truckee, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter takes off from the Truckee Tahoe Airport as recovery efforts for a group of missing skiers continue, continue in Truckee, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A California Highway Patrol search and rescue crew flies over a forest as recovery efforts for a group of missing skiers continue Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Truckee, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
MILAN (AP) — Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo set the record for the most golds by one athlete in a single Winter Olympics as the Norwegian star completed his historic gold medal sweep of the men’s cross-country skiing events on Saturday.
Klaebo’s triumph in the 50-kilometer mass start race was his sixth victory at the Milan Cortina Games and shattered the nearly 50-year record set by American speed skater Eric Heiden, who won five golds in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.
Klaebo’s teammates, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, took silver, and Emil Iversen won bronze in a Norwegian sweep.
The win extends Klaebo’s record for most career Winter Olympic gold medals to 11 over three Games. The previous record had been eight, which Klaebo broke Feb. 15.
Klaebo has the second-most Olympic golds overall. U.S. swimming great Michael Phelps has 23.
Jordan Stolz missed out on his chance to become the first man since 1994 to collect three gold medals in long track speedskating at one Olympics, with the American finishing fourth in the mass start behind 40-year-old champion Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands.
Bergsma is the oldest man to win a speedskating gold, finishing ahead of Viktor Hald Thorup of Denmark and Italy's Andrea Giovannini.
The gold in the women’s mass start also went to a Dutch skater: reigning world champion Marijke Groenewoud. Ivanie Blondin of Canada was the silver medalist for the second Games in a row, followed by Mia Manganello of the U.S. with the bronze.
The United States Olympic team won its record-breaking 11th gold medal of the Games when the trio of Kaila Kuhn, Connor Curran and Chris Lillis took the title in mixed aerials.
The 11th gold breaks the country’s record set at the last Olympics on U.S. soil — in Salt Lake City in 2002.
The Canadian men beat Britain for gold in curling while the women's team overcame its disappointment to beat the U.S, for the bronze.
Brad Jacobs’ team defeated Bruce Mouat’s all-Scottish squad 9-6 inside Cortina’s historic ice arena to give curling powerhouse Canada it’s only gold of the Olympics in the sport.
In the women’s event, top-ranked Canada won 10-7 to deny the American women their first medal in the event.
Rachel Homan’s team had been upset by Sweden in the semifinals.
Kaillie Humphries Armbruster won her sixth career Olympic bobsled medal, tying monobob gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor for the most by any woman in the sport’s history.
The American claimed bronze in the two-woman race, behind Laura Nolte — who successfully defended her title — and Lisa Buckwitz.
Emily Harrop finally got her hands on an Olympic gold medal, combining with Thibault Anselmet to win the mixed relay for France as part of ski mountaineering’s Olympic debut.
Harrop and Anselmet finished the Stelvio course in a time of 26 minutes, 57.44 seconds, holding off the Swiss team of Marianne Fatton and Jon Kistler by 11.86 seconds. Spanish racers Ana Alonso Rodriguez and Oriol Cardona Coll captured the bronze.
Harrop had been favored to win the individual sprint race on Thursday and the first-ever skimo Olympic medal but finished behind Fatton. Anselmet was third in his race, with Cardona Coll claiming gold.
Freeskiers Simone Deromedis and Federico Tomasoni added to the Olympic host country’s medal haul with a 1-2 finish in the men’s skicross final.
Deromedis dominated the four-skier final to win gold while Tomasoni needed a photo-finish to claim silver after stretching to barely beat Alex Fiva. They both celebrated with Italian flags draped over their shoulders as snow fell.
Deromedis gave Italy its 10th gold medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics. Italy’s overall haul is 30 at the end of the penultimate day.
Italy's previous best Winter Olympics was the Lillehammer Games in 1994, when it picked up 20 medals.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
France's Emily Harrop competes during a ski mountaineering mixed relay, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Gold medalists United States' Christopher Lillis, Connor Curran and Kaila Kuhn celebrate after the freestyle skiing mixed team aerials final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gold medallist Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands celebrates winning the men's mass start final speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Jordan Stolz of the U.S. warms up ahead of the mass start speedskating races at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, of Norway, crosses the finish line to win the gold medal during the cross country skiing men's 50km mass start Classic at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
