NY.- Three climbers attempting to reach a Washington State mountain peak over the weekend were killed after one of their group caused an avalanche as they ascended, causing a dangerous snow slide on them, they said. The authorities.
The climbers were part of a six-member group from a New York-based Korean climbing club, and during their ascent they encountered heavy snow and extremely strong winds Sunday as they attempted to reach the 8,705-foot peak in the Cascade Mountains, a range that attracts thousands of visitors each year with spectacular views of the snowy panorama.
They apparently were unaware of the avalanche forecast for Sunday morning as they tried to climb higher toward Colchuk Peak, said Rich Magnussen, an emergency management program specialist with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, who interviewed this week. Tuesday to the three survivors.
“There were really extreme conditions at that location,” Magnussen said. “When it snows here in the valley, expect that to be tenfold up there.”
The climbers, whose names were not released by the sheriff’s office and whose remains have not been recovered, had made steady progress, reaching 7,200 feet on the mountain, when around 1 p.m., the person who led the group caused an avalanche, according to the sheriff’s office.
Four of the six climbers were hit with a large amount of snow, ice and rocks, causing them to fall about 500 feet, Magnussen said. The other two stayed behind a rock when the avalanche hit and were not injured, he added.
“They were really very lucky,” Magnussen said.
The fourth climber who was affected by the avalanche and survived suffered a knee injury.
That climber, who is from New York State, saw two of his friends die instantly, and a third left hanging.
He did CPR on her, but an hour after the initial snow slide, they got another three huge slides.
The three survivors went down to their camp, but were unable to contact the authorities because the group did not have a device to communicate. A seventh member who did not accompany the others had to drive to a nearby town to call the sheriff’s office for help.
