Experts and recovery teams hope to reach site of Alaska avalanche that buried 3 skiers

Authorities successful Alaska said they would effort Thursday to scope the tract of an avalanche that trapped 3 skiers, who are believed to person died aft being buried successful snow.

Poor upwind prevented Alaska State Troopers, avalanche experts and betterment teams from reaching the descent adjacent Girdwood, astir 54 kilometres south of Anchorage, connected Wednesday, troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said.

"We are optimistic that we volition beryllium capable to behaviour an aerial appraisal contiguous for avalanche information considerations and to find what betterment options whitethorn beryllium possible," McDaniel said successful a Thursday email to The Associated Press. "The tract is lone accessible by air."

The avalanche occurred Tuesday day aft a chopper delivered skiers to a backcountry highest successful the Chugach Mountains.

Three skiers were caught successful the avalanche and estimated to beryllium nether much than nine metres of snow.

Heli-ski clients and guides were connected a upland astir 13 kilometres northeast of the Girdwood airdrome erstwhile the avalanche began.

The avalanche appeared to person begun astatine astir 1,066 metres and came to remainder astir 213 metres, said Tracey
Knutson, a spokesperson for Chugach Powder Guides, which operated the trip.

Heli-skiers usage helicopters to scope mountains successful distant backcountry areas wherever determination are nary skis lifts. They past skis oregon snowboard down.

As the descent began, witnesses saw the men deploy their avalanche aerial bags — inflatable vests meant to support avalanche victims supra oregon adjacent the surface, Knutson said. 

The snowfall deposited by the avalanche was up to 30 metres deep, troopers said. The skiers were apt buried astatine depths
greater than nine metres, Knutson said.

"Three guides connected country instantly issued a rescue alert and initiated rescue response," Knutson said successful a statement.

As much guides from helicopters successful the country arrived to help, they picked up signals from the victims' exigency beacons but decided determination were not capable resources connected tract to safely retrieve them Tuesday, Knutson said.

The victims were clients from retired of authorities who had been skiing with a usher connected a way that's utilized regularly by the company, Knutson said.

Victims identified

Alaska State Troopers connected Thursday released the identities of the 3 missing men caught successful the slide: Dave Linder, 39, of Florida; Charles Eppard, 39, of Montana; and Jeremy Leif, 38, of Minnesota.

Subarctic Media, which owns vigor stations crossed Minnesota, said Linder, of Miami, was 1 of its owners.

Managing spouse Matt Ketelsen said Linder was connected abrogation with friends to bash backcountry skiing successful Alaska. Ketelsen said helium didn't person details astir the avalanche.

"Dave was a large skier, a precise confident, bully skier," Ketelsen said. "He'd done this before. This wasn't caller for him."

Ketelsen described his concern spouse arsenic a devoted begetter of 3 young boys.

"He loved the communities that his businesses and our vigor stations served," Ketelsen said.

"And it's a bittersweet time astir present erstwhile you suffer idiosyncratic that is truly passionate astir the concern that they're in."

Experts did not privation to speculate connected Tuesday's avalanche until they person had a accidental to inspect the site.

However, an ongoing avalanche interest for the portion has been a anemic furniture of snowfall that was buried up to 60 centimetres or much beneath the surface, said Andrew Schauer, pb avalanche forecaster with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.

The centre's forecast for Tuesday for the Girdwood country listed the avalanche information astatine precocious elevations arsenic "considerable."

More snowfall and upwind Wednesday was adding value "and making avalanches a small bigger and much likely," Schauer said.

Conditions were expected to stay unsafe adjacent aft the tempest strategy passes.

The country wherever the descent occurred is the epicentre of skiing successful Alaska.

Girdwood is simply a tourer assemblage that caters to wintertime events, with downhill skiing and snowboarding astatine the Alyeska Resort successful a spectacularly scenic location. After a gondola thrust 975 metres up Mount Alyeska, diners tin presumption 7 glaciers from the edifice named for that view.

But determination are galore different tourism and guiding companies that connection sled canine tours, crystal climbing, crystal skating, snowmobile and chopper trips and excursions to glaciers.