NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Three climbers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were killed by an avalanche while trying to scale a mountain in Washington state over the weekend, officials said.
The three climbers were part of a group of six climbers who were scaling Colchuck Peak in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness on Sunday, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office in Wenatchee said Tuesday.
The lead climber triggered the avalanche while trying to climb the northeast couloir, or narrow gully, of the peak, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Four of the climbers were swept down the couloir approximately 500 feet,” the sheriff’s office said. “Three of the climbers died as a result of trauma sustained in the fall.”
The unidentified victims include 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 fourth climber involved in the fall, a 56-year-old man from New York, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was able to hike back to the base camp with the two remaining climbers, who are a 50-year-old man from New York and 36-year-old man from New Jersey.
A search and rescue party made up of 22 rescuers was launched and reached the base camp Sunday afternoon. But conditions were too hazardous for them to recover the deceased climbers, officials said. They escorted the surviving climbers back to the trailhead.
Rescuers hadn’t been sent back to the scene as of Tuesday, as conditions remained too hazardous. A recovery plan is ongoing, the sheriff’s office said.
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