Washington avalanche kills 3 veteran skiers

Ajai Sehgal, with King County Search and Rescue, works at a staging area near Stevens Pass ski resort in Skykomish, Wash., near where three skiers were killed in an avalanche, Feb. 19, 2012. / AP

STEVENS PASS, Wash. - Well-equipped and familiar with the terrain, about a dozen expert skiers were making their way through a foot-and-a half of fresh snow when an avalanche hit them in an out-of-bounds area near a popular Washington ski resort.

Three men were killed Sunday when they were swept about a quarter-mile down a canyon, and a fourth skier caught up in the slide was saved by a safety device, authorities said. The large group had split into three smaller groups before the avalanche, but all the backcountry skiers were buried to some extent. Those who were able to free themselves rushed to dig out the victims and unsuccessfully performed CPR on the three, believed to be in their 30s and 40s.

"Most of the people involved in this were well-known to the ski community up here, especially to the ski patrol," said Deputy Chris Bedker of the King County Sheriff's search-and-rescue unit. "It was their friends who they recovered."

Star skier among 3 dead in huge Wash. avalanche

The Stevens Pass fatalities were part of a deadly Sunday on Washington ski slopes. A male snowboarder was killed in a separate avalanche incident at the Alpental ski area east of Seattle, authorities said.

CBS News learned through friends of the victims that the dead from the Stevens Pass avalanche include Jim Jack, a former extreme skier who judged "freeskiing" competitions around the world. Friends say he was on the mountain making a video with Chris Rudolph, a marketing director for the Stevens Pass ski area. A third man, John Brenan also died.

Pro skier Elyse Saugstad, however, was saved by an avalanche airbag, which kept her near enough to the surface of the slide to keep her head and hands uncovered.

CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports the same kind of gear saved professional snowboarder Meesh Hytner from an avalanche in Colorado earlier this month.

The men who died on Stevens Pass tumbled approximately 1,500 feet down a chute in the Tunnel Creek Canyon area, King County Sheriff's Sgt. Katie Larson said.

ESPN Freeskiing editor Megan Michelson was among the skiers but was uninjured, according to ESPN.

King County Sheriff's officers and other emergency officials work along Highway 2 near the Stevens Pass ski resort, near where three skiers were killed in an avalanche.

/ AP

Michelson said the initial slide was about 30 feet wide and three feet deep, but quickly grew as it swept away Saugstad and the three victims.

Saugstad said she immediately deployed the airbag from her backpack, crediting it with saving her life.

"I was completely buried except for my head and hands" after coming to a rest, she said.

Two of the victims were found nearby, while the third was carried "several hundred feet" farther down the mountain, Saugstad said.

Michelson said the remaining skiers called for help and skied the length of the avalanche track looking for victims, Michelson said.

"The debris pile at the bottom was massive," Michelson said.

Initial reports of the avalanche reached the sheriff's office just after noon, and for some time it wasn't clear whether the other skiers had also been swept up in the slide.

The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center on Sunday issued a warning for high avalanche danger for areas above 5,000 feet, saying warmer weather could loosen surface snow and trigger a slide on steeper slopes. The elevation of the avalanche wasn't immediately clear.

At mid-afternoon, the temperature at the base of the Stevens Pass ski resort was 24 degrees, with light winds and good visibility. The temperature at the top of the mountain was 22 degrees, according to the resort's website.

John Gifford, the ski area's general manager, said Sunday that the resort had received 19 inches of snow in the past 24 hours.

He described the area as a popular backcountry skiing zone that can be easily accessed from the resort.

He said the slopes there are steeper than at the resort and lack the resort's avalanche control

"You need to be a highly skilled skier to do that," he said.

Stevens Pass is one of the most popular outdoor recreation areas in the state, with visitors flocking to the scenic site to go cross-country, back-country and downhill skiing, as well as snowshoeing and backpacking.

Across the West, there had been 13 avalanche deaths this season as of Thursday, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which tracks avalanche deaths in the U.S.

Experts have said the risk of additional slides in the region could remain high all season. They attribute the dangers in part to a weak base layer of snow caused by a dry winter.

Avalanche deaths are more common in the backcountry than at ski resorts. Out of about 900 avalanche deaths nationwide since the winter of 1950-51, 32 were within terrain that was open for riding at ski resorts, according to the Utah Avalanche Center.

[mcparrett]

Nobody broke any rules - they were in a backcountry ski area. It is completely possible to ski the backcountry on the most dangerous days without running into avalanche issues. By the same token, people have died this year at supposedly controlled resorts. Sometimes you make choices and ***** risk, but still have an accident. All three men who died were great guys who have contributed a lot to our sport. Everyone in that group was well trained and had probably spent more time on snow science knowledge than most people who decide to ski in the backcountry. To sit there with no understanding of the risks that they did or did not take and mock them is one of the most vile things I've read.

[dresia]

Listen, we must all obey rules when there are rules to follow or, we pay the conseqences. I'm so sorry for the families of these victims. They are the ones hurting and suffering now. I hope the survivor has learned a lesson from this, read and obey the rules. Next time, may not be a lucky day for you.

[mcparrett]

What rules are you talking about? Are you under the wrong impression that they ducked out of a ski resort? Think about the additional pain that you are causing by criticizing highly trained people who died doing something you don't understand.

[sharky77]

I cannot issue any sympathy for the skiers, only the families left behind. The skiers were arrogant and they paid for that arrogance.

[sharky77]

I don't really have much sympathy at all for the skiers. I have sympathy for the families left behind. They were arrogant, and arrogance got them killed.

[creeper00]

Speaking of skiing, why didn't the MSM bother to report that Michelle Obama went skiing in Aspen over the weekend? Our dollars paid for her private jet (less a first-class airfare reimbursement) and all the expenses of advance and security teams. But nowhere in the major medial did you read this story.

[signseeker1717]

It's amazing how some people can take the most UNRELATED story and twist it into something political. "Skiing" is the ONLY word your post and this story have in common.

What brilliant journalistic investigation led you to uncover this earth-shattering story that ALL the major "medial"(?) overlooked?

Were you equally diligent in complaining about the travels costs of Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Laura Bush or did you just become a CREEP under THIS Administration?

Thanks for the big heads-up - I hope Mrs. Obama had a WONDERFUL time. Aspen is lovely this time of year.

[fredrickh]

These people probably like to go surfing in shark infested waters or perhaps during a hurricane. that's there perogative but they should sign a waver saying that no emergency personel have to put their lives in danger because they are risk takers (idiots). This new safety device will mean that more people will take more chances - and again endangering the rescue personel - the survivors should all be charged or fined.

[credibility2]

A warning was issued for high avalanche conditions in this area, yet these imbeciles ignored the warning and safety precaution by arrogantly challenging nature. Nature won. Stupid loss of life.

[corn29]

The headline is misleading. These people were not advanced skiers. They are idiots. The first thing you learn in training is NOT to go if there's gonna be a slide. All the equipment in the world won't help you when you knowingly disregard the forecast. While skiing out of bounds in an avalanche warning, the only thing their beacons did was help find the bodies quicker.