3 Skiers Buried 30 Metres Deep In Massive Avalanche In Alaska, Believed To Be Dead – wna24

Washington: Alaska State Troopers said that three skiers who had flown by helicopter to a remote Chugach mountain range were swept away by an avalanche and are believed to be under the weight of dozens of feet of snow.

Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said troopers do not believe the three skiers survived the avalanche.

According to officials, the slide caught the heli-skiers late Tuesday afternoon in the Chugach Mountains near the skiing community of Girdwood, located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Anchorage.

He further stated that guides from the heli-skiing company attempted to locate the trapped skiers using avalanche beacons and identified a probable area where they were buried, but the victims were unable to be immediately recovered because of how deep they were buried.

Chugach Powder Guides, which was running the trip, said that the snow deposited by the avalanche was up to 100 feet deep, and the skiers were likely buried at depths greater than 30 feet.

Chugach Powder Guides spokesperson Tracey Knutson said the victims were clients from out of state who had been skiing with a guide on a run that’s used regularly by the company. 

The avalanche site was 8 miles (13 kilometers) northeast of the airport in Girdwood, in an area along the Twentymile River, according to the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.

An ongoing avalanche concern for the region has been a weak layer of snow that was buried up to 2 feet (60 centimeters) or more beneath the surface, said Andrew Schauer, lead avalanche forecaster with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.