Bend, Oregon — An avalanche in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains killed two backcountry skiers and a third was found dead in an avalanche field near South Kale Tahoe in California, authorities said.
In Oregon, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that its search-and-rescue unit recovered two bodies west of Bend in Happy Valley, near Broken Top Peak.
The couple had been skiing when an avalanche occurred Monday at 6,700 feet on a south-facing slope, the Central Oregon Avalanche Center said in a social media post.
Central Oregon Daily News via AP
“We extend our deepest condolences to all who loved the couple who tragically lost their lives while doing what they loved,” the post said. “As longtime residents of Central Oregon, they have touched many lives, and their legacy will continue to live on in our community.”
In a separate report, the Avalanche Center said, “It is likely that the riders triggered the avalanche themselves.”
The names of the two people killed haven’t been released.
Earlier Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said it had responded overnight to reports of people possibly buried in an avalanche in the area.
Avalanche danger in the Central Cascades is currently “considerable,” a 3 on a scale of 0 to 5, according to the Avalanche Center forecast.
In California, CBS Sacramento reports, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said its dispatch center received a call late Monday afternoon regarding a missing backcountry skier near Powderhouse Peak. The skier’s vehicle was found in a parking area.
A short time later, the missing person’s body was found by friends in an avalanche area, the sheriff’s office said. However, the snowy weather forced recovery efforts to be pushed back to Tuesday.
A recovery operation began at around 6 a.m. and crews used controlled explosives to minimize any further avalanche dangers, authorities said. Crews successfully recovered the body by around 5 p.m. using a helicopter.
The identity of that skier also hasn’t been released and a cause of death hasn’t been determined.
