Three skiers were probably killed then an avalanche They wiped away on a remote mountain range in Alaska, the authorities said on Wednesday.
The three adult skiers were flown by helicopter to the remote backcountry in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood, a ski community about 40 miles south of Anchorage, on Tuesday, Alaska Sta -stroopers said.
After the slide caught the skiers, guides from the Heli-skiing company with which the group was immediately tried to find the three missing skiers, according to Troopers.
The guides used avalanche beacons to identify an area where the skiers were probably buried under 40 to almost 100 feet of snow. Troopers said that the skiers could not be recovered immediately because of how deep they were buried.
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A piece of ice floats along the Glacier portage near Girdwood, Alaska, on June 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Although Troopers have not been able to judge the site, spokesperson Austin McDaniel said that they do not believe that the three skiers survived the avalanche.
A sign on Alyeska Highway Points to winter tourist companies in Girdwood, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Troopers said that “considerable avalanche risk” and limited daylight on Tuesday prevented recovery operations.
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The three victims, all men from the state, were clients of Chugach pudding guidesSpokesperson for the company Tracey Knutson told The Associated Press. A fourth person in the group was not imprisoned in the avalanche, she said.
The outside of Chugach powder guides will be shown on 5 March 2025 in Girdwood, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Witnesses saw the men use their avalanche airbags – inflatable cardigans intended to keep victims of avalanche above or near the surface, said Knutson, adding that guides on the spot “had immediately issued a rescue warning and initiated rescue reaction.”
Until now, avalanches have killed 15 people in the US this winter, three snowmobiles were caught in a slide that buried and killed one person and injured a second Washington State.
The Associated Press has contributed to this report.
