Three climbers in Washington state were killed in an avalanche on Sunday after the slide swept them about 500 feet down a mountainside, authorities said Tuesday.
The avalanche was triggered by the lead climber in the group of six who were ascending the northeast couloir of Colchuck Peak near Leavenworth, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said.
The three climbers who did not survive were identified as a 60-year-old woman from New York, a 66-year-old man from New Jersey and a 53-year-old man from Connecticut.
A 56-year-old man from New York suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was able to hike back to their base camp in the backcountry with the two other surviving climbers, a 50-year-old man from New York and a 36-year-old New Jersey man.
WISCONSIN MAN DIES DURING GRAND CANYON HIKE TO COLORADO RIVER, OFFICIALS SAY
A seventh climber, a 53-year-old Maryland man, had stayed behind at their camp and reported the avalanche to the sheriff’s office on Monday after the survivors returned, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office dispatched 22 search and rescuers from multiple agencies to the trailhead. However, officials said the teams determined that avalanche conditions were too dangerous to continue searching for the deceased climbers.
Rescuers escorted the surviving four climbers back to the trailhead.
On Tuesday, conditions on the mountain remained too hazardous for the search teams, officials said.
The sheriff’s office and the Northwest Avalanche Center were working on a plan to recover the bodies when conditions improved.
Colchuck Peak is located at the south end of Colchuck Lake, about 8 miles south of Leavenworth.
