Search underway in Alaska for backcountry skiers believed to be buried in avalanche, officials say

An avalanche in the Alaska backcountry buried three skiers under a layer of snow that is estimated to be up to 100 feet deep, Alaska State Troopers reported on Wednesday.

The group was helicopter skiing on Tuesday afternoon near Girdwood, a resort town in Alaska, which is about 40 miles south of Anchorage. Alaska State Troopers were notified that there was an avalanche later that afternoon, and are investigating as weather and avalanche conditions allow.

However, Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson for the troopers, told the Associated Press that “based on the information provided by the operator, unfortunately, we do not believe that any of the three missing persons survived the avalanche.”

If the three missing skiers are confirmed dead, this would mark the deadliest avalanche in the U.S. since February 2023, when three members of a Korean climbing group were killed in a slide in Washington’s Cascade Mountains. According to the National Avalanche Center, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S. every winter; the highest risk of avalanches are found in Colorado, Utah and Idaho.

Alaska Public Media reported that the skiers were with Girdwood-based heli skiing company Chugach Powder Guides, which sent guides in helicopters to try to locate the missing skiers on Tuesday afternoon.

“The guides were unable to recover the three skiers due to the depth. Due to considerable avalanche risk in this area and limited daylight, no further recovery operations were conducted on March 4,” McDaniel told the AP. “If weather and conditions allow for it, Troopers plan to assess avalanche conditions from the air and determine recovery options with individuals that have experience making avalanche recoveries.”

The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center issued a warning on Tuesday that there was considerable avalanche threat in the area at elevations over 1,000 feet. The center said of the missing skiers, “We are sorry to report an avalanche resulted in multiple fatalities in the west fork of the Twentymile River yesterday afternoon.”

Heli skiing is a form of backcountry skiing in which guests take a helicopter to the top of a mountain or a remote area to ski or snowboard down. A common misconception is that skiers have to jump from a helicopter to ski, which is not the case, as the helicopter lands on the top of the mountain. Chugach Powder Guides describes itself as one of the “original heli ski operators in Alaska,” established in 1997.