Efforts to recover the three men who died in an avalanche Tuesday while they were on a guided heli-ski trip in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood were halted due to dangerous conditions and difficult terrain — and may not resume until conditions improve,

Dangerous avalanche conditions in the area persist, stalling recovery efforts and prompting warnings from forecasters.

Efforts to recover the three men who died in an avalanche Tuesday while they were on a guided heli-ski trip in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood were halted because of dangerous conditions and difficult terrain — and may not resume until conditions improve,

Girdwood is a tourist community that caters to winter events, with downhill skiing and snowboarding at the Alyeska Resort in a spectacularly scenic location. After a gondola ride 3,200 feet (975 meters) up Mount Alyeska, diners can view seven glaciers from the restaurant named for that view.

This is Alaska’s first fatal avalanche reported this season. It is also the country’s deadliest since February 2023.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers said an avalanche buried three skiers under a blanket of snow between 40 and 100 feet deep in a small resort town.

It appears to be the first fatal avalanche this winter in Alaska and the country's deadliest since an avalanche in Washington's Cascade Mountains killed three climbers in 2023.

Three people are feared to be dead after being buried by a large avalanche while on a guided heli-skiing trip near Girdwood, Alaska, authorities said. (Dreamstime) Three skiers identified Thursday as feared killed in an Alaskan avalanche had Minnesota connections.

Tuesday’s slide measured more than a half-mile long with a debris pile estimated to be 40 to 100 feet deep, authorities said.

Charlie Eppard, originally from Mankato, and Jeremy Leif are two of the three skiers who went missing following an avalanche near a ski resort in Alaska.