A second skier has died from his injuries from an avalanche that hit a group of six heli-skiers outside of Haines yesterday.
Nickolay Dodov, of Truckee, California, was taken off life support Wednesday afternoon at Harbor View Hospital in Seattle. He was 26-years old.
Dodov was one of two people caught in an avalanche skiers called “massive,” that occurred on a mountain ridge about 20 air miles northwest of Haines Tuesday morning. He was a client on a guided trip that used a helicopter to access the back country ski runs. Their guide, 35-year-old Rob Liberman, died Tuesday. Both men were recovered by other skiers and snowboarders. They were both wearing avalanche beacons.
Although the Lower 48 has experienced a relatively fatal avalanche season this year, these are the first avalanche-caused deaths in Alaska this winter.
Tara Bicknell is a reporter at KHNS in Haines.
