RENO — Two backcountry skiers escaped uninjured Thursday after they were caught in an avalanche that closed the state highway between Reno and Lake Tahoe in a part of the Sierra Nevada where as much as 6 feet of snow has fallen over the past four days.
"Luckily, no one was hurt," said Meg Ragonese, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
The man and woman whose names were not released ended up walking off the mountain on their own after rescue crews responded about 12:20 p.m. Thursday along the Mount Rose Highway west of the Mount Rose ski resort, said Washoe County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff McCaskill.
North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District spokeswoman Tia Rancourt said the skiers were "already out of harm's way up on a hillside in the avalanche area" when the crews arrived.
"One of the skiers had assisted the other one," she said. "Paramedics conducted a medical evaluation and they were released."