TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) -- Rescuers searched a remote area of the Sierra Nevada on Saturday for a cross-country skier trapped in an avalanche. In separate searches, two groups of skiers and snowboarders were found after spending a frigid night in the mountains.
The missing skier was trapped Thursday in an avalanche in a rugged area west of Truckee and north of Donner Summit, a California Division of Forestry spokeswoman said. A companion escaped without injury, but could not call authorities until Saturday afternoon because a blizzard and heavy snow prevented him from getting out of the backcountry, forestry officials said.
The search was suspended Saturday evening and was expected to resume Sunday morning. No details about the skiers or the avalanche were immediately available.
The two rescued groups became lost in a blizzard Friday afternoon at separate ski resorts just north of Lake Tahoe, Placer County Sheriff Edward Bonner said. The overnight low at the nearby Truckee airport was 8 degrees below zero.
Two skiers were found uninjured but very cold about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Bonner said.
Four snowboarders weren't found until about seven hours later, but they had spent the night in a crude backcountry cabin and had managed to start a small fire. They were spotted by a helicopter crew and flown out in good condition.
``If they had not located the hunting cabin they probably would not have survived the sub-zero night temperatures,'' Deputy Fred Carey said.
