Avalanche

Three climbers were rescued by helicopter from Mount McKinley Thursday, two of whom were unable to walk after sustaining leg injuries in an avalanche Sunday. Denali National Park officials say an A-Star B3 helicopter contracted by the park picked up Michael Pillegaard, 26, Mads Knudsen, 30, and Nicolai Bo Silver, 26, from the mountain's 17,200-foot high camp. The trio had left the camp Sunday to try and summit the mountain by an alternate route along the Autobahn, a slope leading from the high camp to Denali Pass.

An effort to recover the bodies of four Japanese climbers who died in an avalanche on Mt. McKinley, in Alaska's Denali National Park, has been permanently called off. “We just decided it was not worth the risk,” said Maureen McLaughlin, a park spokesperson. An avalanche swept a five person climbing team off a slope, Wednesday. Only one member of the group, 69 year old Hitoshi Ogi, survived. He is recovering from minor injuries, which include frostbite on his hand. The others, 64-year-old Yoshiaki Kato, 50-year-old Masako Suda, 56-year-old Michiko Suzuki, and 63-year-old Tamao Suzuki, are buried under very dense snow and ice, the National Park Service said.

An avalanche Tuesday blocked the Copper River Highway near Cordova, closing the road for more than six hours before city officials say it reopened at 6:30 p.m. Officials say the slide at about Mile 5 of the highway, which a city spokesperson attributed to warm temperatures and rainfall, happened shortly before noon. Driver Donald Kurz says he was on his way to the airport with his wife and 2-year-old daughter when they encountered the avalanche. “As we're approaching the corner, I see this massive wall of snow floating like a river down the highway into the Eyak Lake, which is right across the highway,” Kurz said.

Alaska State Troopers say both men who were caught in a Tuesday avalanche near Haines have died. Nick Dodov of Truckee, Calif., 26, was listed in critical condition early Wednesday, but died Wednesday afternoon. His next of kin have been notified. Troopers in Haines were informed at 11:11 a.m. of the avalanche, which occurred near Mile 33 of the Haines Highway. Six people were heli-skiing on Takhine Ridge when the avalanche hit, burying 35-year-old Robert Liberman of Telluride, Colo.

The Juneau City Assembly will meet Monday night to discuss ways to reduce the avalanche threat in the city. Back in 1972, Juneau was declared the highest avalanche-risk urban area anywhere in the world by a body called the Swiss Snow Authority, which makes such assessments. The city got the designation because its 30,000 residents sit at the base of 2,500-foot mountains that slope as much as 34 degrees. Avalanche pathways on those mountains lead directly to 62 homes, a hospital, a hotel and a main road.

A Sunday ski trip turned deadly after an avalanche hit a group of experienced back-country skiers in an out-of-bounds area at Washington's popular Steven's Pass. Elyse Saugstad, a professional skier and Girdwood, Alaska native, was one of the skiers swept up in the snow slide. Out of her smaller group of four, she was the only survivor and told NBC's Today Show on Monday, that all of them felt safe in the area. But then, the avalanche hit. "At the very beginning, there wasn't much panic.

It was a busy President's Day holiday at Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood.  But for some who work here, especially those who ski in the back country, it was a day of loss. Many know the three skiers who were killed in Sunday's avalanche near Seattle.   “It was a big shocker to the whole snow community for sure,” said Brad Cosgrove who works as a guide for Chugach Powder Guides, which takes skiers to back country slopes  by helicopter.  Cosgrove also knows the Girdwood woman who survived, Elyse Saugstad, who credits an avalanche airbag backpack with saving her life.

The Alaska Department of Transportation said crews will be using more artillery Friday to reduce avalanche hazards along the Seward Highway. This comes after sections of the Sterling and Seward highways were closed for hours because of an avalanche early Thursday morning. Officials said the avalanche covered the roadway at mile marker 37. Drivers listened down the highway as aU.S. Armyhowitzer cleared snow that didn't come down during the avalanche. This latest storm brought quite a bit of snow along the Seward, and DOT said crews are expecting more avalanche activity in the next couple of days.

Cordova residents woke up Wednesday to rain that had turned a lot of the city's heavy snowfall snow into slush, causing several inches of water to accumulate on the roads. Temperatures reached into the upper 30s, prompting fears of an avalanche on the Copper River Highway. The state Department of Transportation shut down the highway Tuesday night, but by mid-morning Wednesday traffic was allowed back through with an escort. "The avalanche shoot has filled up with snow," said Cordova Public Information Officer Tim Joyce.