Tragedy struck in Alaska Tuesday afternoon, when three men skiing near Girdwood—about 40 miles south of Anchorage—were swept up in an avalanche and buried under snow that measured as deep as a 10-story building in places. Alaska State Troopers on Wednesday said the men were out-of-state clients of Girdwood-based Chugach Powder Guides and were skiing on backcountry terrain in the Chugach Mountains that the company regularly takes clients to by helicopter. Witnesses said the avalanche began at around 3,500 feet and that all three men deployed their avalanche air bags; the avalanche ended at about 700 feet, reports Anchorage Daily News.
A rep for Chugach Powder Guides says three guides "were on scene immediately initiating rescue response and an emergency alert" and detected signals from the men's emergency beacons; the lowest was nearly 45 feet deep. Helicopters also arrived on scene but the search was ended after about an hour after it was decided "that the victims were clearly unrecoverable. ... Due to considerable avalanche risk in this area and limited daylight, no further recovery operations were conducted." Troopers say they'll return to the area to determine whether it's safe to move forward with recovery operations.
The AP reports it appears to mark the deadliest US avalanche since three climbers died in a slide in Washington's Cascade Mountains in 2023. It occurred in what's known as the skiing capital of Alaska: Girdwood is home to the Alyeska Resort, which sits at the base of Mount Alyeska. Per the National Avalanche Center, avalanches kill 25 to 30 people annually in the US; this winter season has seen 15 deaths so far. (More avalanche stories.)
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