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

Authorities in Alaska said they would attempt Thursday to reach the site of an avalanche that trapped three skiers, who are believed to have died after being buried in snow.

Poor weather prevented Alaska State Troopers, avalanche experts and recovery teams from reaching the slide near Girdwood, about 54 kilometres south of Anchorage, on Wednesday, troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said.

"We are optimistic that we will be able to conduct an aerial assessment today for avalanche safety considerations and to determine what recovery options may be possible," McDaniel said in a Thursday email to The Associated Press. "The site is only accessible by air."

The avalanche occurred Tuesday afternoon after a helicopter delivered skiers to a backcountry peak in the Chugach Mountains.

Three skiers were caught in the avalanche and estimated to be under more than nine metres of snow.

Heli-ski clients and guides were on a mountain about 13 kilometres northeast of the Girdwood airport when the avalanche began.

The avalanche appeared to have begun at about 1,066 metres and came to rest around 213 metres, said Tracey
Knutson, a spokesperson for Chugach Powder Guides, which operated the trip.

Heli-skiers use helicopters to reach mountains in remote backcountry areas where there are no ski lifts. They then ski or snowboard down.

As the slide began, witnesses saw the men deploy their avalanche air bags — inflatable vests meant to keep avalanche victims above or near the surface, Knutson said. 

The snow deposited by the avalanche was up to 30 metres deep, troopers said. The skiers were likely buried at depths
greater than nine metres, Knutson said.

"Three guides on scene immediately issued a rescue alert and initiated rescue response," Knutson said in a statement.

As more guides from helicopters in the area arrived to help, they picked up signals from the victims' emergency beacons but decided there were not enough resources on site to safely recover them Tuesday, Knutson said.

The victims were clients from out of state who had been skiing with a guide on a route that's used regularly by the company, Knutson said.

Victims identified

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

Subarctic Media, which owns radio stations across Minnesota, said Linder, of Miami, was one of its owners.

Managing partner Matt Ketelsen said Linder was on vacation with friends to do backcountry skiing in Alaska. Ketelsen said he didn't have details about the avalanche.

"Dave was a great skier, a very confident, good skier," Ketelsen said. "He'd done this before. This wasn't new for him."

Ketelsen described his business partner as a devoted father of three young boys.

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

"And it's a sad day around here when you lose somebody that is really passionate about the business that they're in."

Experts did not want to speculate on Tuesday's avalanche until they have had a chance to inspect the site.

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

The centre's forecast for Tuesday for the Girdwood area listed the avalanche danger at high elevations as "considerable."

More snow and wind Wednesday was adding weight "and making avalanches a little bigger and more likely," Schauer said.

Conditions were expected to remain dangerous even after the storm system passes.

The area where the slide occurred is the epicentre of skiing in Alaska.

Girdwood is a tourist community that caters to winter events, with downhill skiing and snowboarding at the Alyeska Resort in a spectacularly scenic location. After a gondola ride 975 metres up Mount Alyeska, diners can view seven glaciers from the restaurant named for that view.

But there are many other tourism and guiding companies that offer sled dog tours, ice climbing, ice skating, snowmobile and helicopter trips and excursions to glaciers.