Alaska State Troopers and volunteer searchers have so far been unable to recover the bodies of three heli-skiers caught in an avalanche last spring in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood.
The March 4 avalanche killed 39-year-old Florida resident David Linder, 39-year-old Montana resident Charles Eppard and 38-year-old Minnesota resident Jeremy Leif. The three friends grew up together in Minnesota and were on a guided heli-skiing trip with Chugach Powder Guides near the west fork of the Twentymile River, according to troopers.
Despite repeated efforts over the summer -- including the troopers flying in members of the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and Girdwood Fire Department -- the men's bodies remain on the mountain, troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said in an interview Wednesday.
The terrain has been a huge obstacle, McDaniel said.
"You have a very steep mountain ravine that this avalanche slid down into and compacted, high up in the mountains in an area that's only accessible by helicopter," McDaniel said.
Under that compacted snow is a fast-moving glacial river, McDaniel said.
Troopers had flown over the area in March after the avalanche struck and pinged beacons the men were wearing at between 40 and 100 feet deep in the snow, McDaniel said.
Since then, he said, the troopers' helicopter has flown over the site at least twice a month, using advanced optical sensors to search for the men's bodies, to no avail.
"Every time we have flights south of Anchorage, we're still taking a route that flies us over that area, hoping to see some type of clue or evidence that might help us and our technical rescue folks that we're working with be able to recover human remains and bring closure to these three families," McDaniel said.
Recovering the bodies remains a priority for troopers and the volunteer searchers, McDaniel said.
Chugach Powder Guides has refused to comment on the fatal avalanche. A lawyer acting as a spokesperson for the heli-ski company did not respond to a phone message Wednesday.
