Skier reported killed in avalanche

SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. – A skier died Wednesday after being caught in a small avalanche, a Seattle television station reported.

KOMO-TV said the 28-year-old man died after being airlifted from Alpental ski area to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said she could not confirm the report because of patient privacy law.

A spokesman for The Summit at Snoqualmie, which includes Alpental and three other ski areas, said the avalanche struck around 12:30 p.m., burying the skier below the International Cliffs, an area that was closed because there wasn’t enough snow.

A friend who was skiing with the victim was partially buried, but was able to dig himself out, Summit spokesman Jon Pretty said.

Two other skiers were in the area at the time but weren’t caught in the snow slide. One helped locate the buried skier, and the other notified ski patrol, Pretty said.

A ski patrol crew found the buried skier, who, like his friend, was wearing an avalanche beacon, about 40 minutes after the avalanche. He was unconscious and airlifted to Seattle.