Avalanche kills 1 backcountry skier, leaves 2 others with head injuries in Alaska

The avalanche came roaring down near the Seward Highway on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage on Tuesday, sweeping the skiers away as they were ascending a mountain

An avalanche in Alaska has killed one backcountry skier and left two others with head injuries.

The avalanche came roaring down near the Seward Highway on the Kenai Peninsula on Tuesday, sweeping the skiers away as they were ascending a mountain in the backcountry, Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday.

The skier who was killed was as 28-year-old Joseph Allen of Anchorage. The two men he was with are expected to survive.

Authorities are reminding the public that “anyone who engages in backcountry recreational activities to please check the local avalanche conditions before setting out,” according to a Facebook post made by Cooper Landing Emergency Services.

“Always be prepared with the appropriate safety gear regardless of how safe and experienced you might be!” the post says. “These victims had all the necessary safety gear and it still proved deadly.”

More about what happened

The group of men were climbing a peak along the highway in order to ski down when their movement triggered an avalanche that swept them away just south of Anchorage, troopers said.

The two men found alive were able to climb out after being buried, but Allen could not be found.

First responders were eventually able to extricate all three men off the remote mountain “at a significant elevation,” Cooper Landing said in its post.

Allen was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other two men were flown to taken to a hospital with what’s expected to be non-life-threatening injuries, Cooper Landing said.