The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center also issued a special bulletin warning of dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains across a wide swath of Southcentral Alaska.

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

Alaska State Troopers say three skiers who had flown by helicopter to a remote mountain range were swept away by an avalanche and likely killed under the weight of snow nearly as deep as a 10-story building.