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

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

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

The skier who was killed was 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

Disaster struck the group of skiers around 2:30 p.m., according to a man who identified himself as a survivor of the avalanche but didn't want his name published.

"The slide was remotely triggered above us and dragged two of us around 1,000 feet," he told USA TODAY. "We were able to dig ourselves out and start the search process for Joe."

He continued to say that "there was a search in the avalanche runout debris where we found one of Joe’s skis and poles since we could not get a beacon signal."

The men then used tools called avalanche probes to poke the snow in search of Allen, "then called EMS after some time."

Eventually they were able to find Allen, who was "fully buried," the survivor said. "CPR was administered."

Unfortunately they couldn't save Allen, who was pronounced dead at the scene. "Volunteer skiers came to help with body recovery" and the two survivors were taken out on snow machines and then to the hospital," he said.

Both survivors had head wounds, one of them had a dislocated shoulder and the other a knee injury, he said.