Skiers hurt in avalanche rush to save 28-year-old who later died, Alaska troopers say
A man died after being swept away in an avalanche with two other backcountry skiers, Alaska troopers say.
The three men were climbing a mountain in the Chugach National Forest, planning to ski down, when “they triggered an avalanche and were all swept away” on Feb. 13, Alaska State Troopers said in a news release.
“It broke loose above them and carried them 800 to 1,000 feet down,” Cooper Landing EMS deputy chief Clay Adam told the Anchorage Daily News. “Two of them were able to stay pretty much above the surface or close to it.”
Though two of the skiers were able to get out of the avalanche, the third was missing, troopers said.
After finding the man, the fellow skiers “dug him out of the avalanche” and started CPR, according to troopers.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene, according to troopers.
The man, identified by troopers as Joseph Allen, 28, was pronounced dead on scene, while the two other men were taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, Cooper Landing Emergency Services said in a Feb. 14 Facebook post.
The skiers were prepared in the event of an avalanche, Adam told CBS News.
“They had all the right gear,” Adam told the outlet. “They had all their parachutes and avalanche beacons and everything, but unfortunately the outcome was not as good.”
The nonprofit urged those who plan to take part in backcountry activities to check avalanche conditions, and to be prepared with the proper gear “regardless of how safe and experienced you might be.”
Chugach National Forest is about 90 miles east of Anchorage.
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