Alaska Skiers Rescued After Being Stranded by Avalanche
wo back-country skiers who became stranded for hours by an avalanche were rescued by helicopter early Saturday morning, the Alaska Air National Guard said.
The skiers and another member of their party had been involved in the snow slide Friday evening in the Chugach Mountains south of Anchorage, officials said.
The avalanche initially buried one of the skiers, Ian Lacroix, 20, of New York, officials said. He resurfaced with a broken leg as the snow moved down the mountain, officials said. His 28-year-old brother, Nathan Lacroix of nearby Girdwood, Alaska, stayed with him as the third skier went for help, officials said.
The third skier, Conner Maloney, 23, of Girdwood, called the Alaska State Troopers by cell phone, officials said. The Alaska Air National Guard responded with a helicopter and rescue crew, officials said. “Without the joint efforts of the Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Air National Guard the state of the two brothers could have been something more life threatening,” Master Sergeant Kenneth Bellamy of the 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center said in a statement