Three members of a six-person climbing group, all residents of the tri-state area, are dead after they were caught in an avalanche while scaling a 7,600-foot peak in central Washington state.
Three climbers killed during avalanche in Washington state
A six-person group of “backcountry travelers” were attempting to climb a steep gorge on Colchuck Peak in the Cascade mountains when an avalanche occurred, according to a statement by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office in a news release, CNN reported.
The incident occurred around 1 PM on February 19 at 7,600 feet above sea level. Colchuck Peak is near the Cascade Mountains village of Leavenworth, about 120 miles east of downtown Seattle.
Four of the climbers were swept down roughly 500 feet. Three of the climbers were buried by three additional slides that began an hour after the initial avalanche, according to Rich Magnussen, emergency management program specialist for the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.
Without elaborating, the Sheriff’s office said that the group’s lead climber had triggered the avalanche during the ascent.
Of the four who were swept down the 500-foot distance, the surviving climber had non-life-threatening injuries and was able to hike back to the base camp with two other people from the group.
The three persons died “as a result of trauma sustained in the fall,” the release added.
The Chelan County sheriff’s office identified the victims as Seong Cho, a 54-year-old Korean national living in West Hartford, Connecticut; Jeannie Lee, a 60-year-old woman from Bayside, New York, and Yun Park, a 66-year-old from Palisades Park, New Jersey, CBS News reported.
A seventh climber, who stayed behind at base camp, alerted the Sheriff’s office and went searching for help when the group returned after the avalanche.
Initial condensers too dangerous to recover dead climbers
Initially, nearly two dozen rescue personnel responded to the incident on the trailhead, but avalanche conditions at that time were too hazardous to read to recover the dead climbers, according to the Sheriff’s office.
One body recovered a week later
Nearly a week later, officials said the body of one of the three people presumed dead in the avalanche, Seong Cho, was recovered the following Friday using a Snohomish County sheriff’s helicopter, NBC News reported.
According to the Sheriff’s office, they found Cho’s body underneath a thin layer of snow by using GPS coordinates provided by the surviving hiker. His body was turned over to the Chelan County Coroner’s Office for further investigation.
Chelan County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Reinfeld later said, “It sounds like the lead climber actually [caused the avalanche] by planting his ice ax [and he] triggered a slab that they were on to slide. The ice ax created a crack that allowed the slab to slide.”
Reinfeld stressed that the incident was an accident and that the lead climber should not be blamed.
“That is something that happens,” Reinfeld added. “You can mitigate those risks by knowing avalanche conditions and being aware of what could trigger it and how hazardous conditions are.”
