Three climbers — a 60-year-old New York woman, a 53-year-old Connecticut man and a 66-year-old New Jersey man — died in an avalanche that swept them 500 feet down a mountain in Washington state earlier this week, officials say.
Those killed were part of a group of six that trekked out to Colchuck Peak on Sunday, according to a 53-year-old Maryland man with them who stayed behind at base camp that day. The three climbers who died were identified as Yun Park, of Palisades Park, NJ; Jeannie Lee, of Bayside, NY; and Seong Cho, a Korean national residing in West Hartford, CT, according to the sheriff's office.
The group set out to climb Colchuck Peak, which sits at the south end of Colchuck Lake about 8 miles south of Leavenworth, Washington. The lead climber accidentally triggered an avalanche while trying to climb the northeast part of the mountain, and the cannon of snow swept all but two away.
The three climbers who died succumbed to trauma sustained in the fall, officials said. The fourth climber swept down the mountain, a 56-year-old New York man, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was able to hike back to base camp with the other two survivors: a 50-year-old New York man and a 36-year-old New Jersey man.
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They called for help when they got back.
Nearly two dozen rescuers responded to the trailhead to assist in the recovery effort, but by the time they arrived Monday afternoon, avalanche conditions made the mountain too hazardous to try to reach the dead climbers. The survivors were escorted back to the trailhead.
Officials said that the weather conditions at the time of the climb made it "an absolutely terrible weekend to be in the mountains."
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A volunteer with the rescue team said that the climbers appeared to be "very experienced" with all the proper equipment, but it came down to bad luck, as they were "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The scene was still too dangerous to send rescuers on Wednesday due to weather conditions. Efforts to develop a safe recovery plan are ongoing.
