Efforts to recover the three men who died in an avalanche Tuesday while they were on a guided heli-ski trip in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood were halted due to dangerous conditions and difficult terrain — and may not resume until conditions improve,

Dangerous avalanche conditions in the area persist, stalling recovery efforts and prompting warnings from forecasters.

It appears to be the first fatal avalanche this winter in Alaska and the country's deadliest since an avalanche in Washington's Cascade Mountains killed three climbers in 2023.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers said an avalanche buried three skiers under a blanket of snow between 40 and 100 feet deep in a small resort town.

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

Efforts to recover the three men who died in an avalanche Tuesday while they were on a guided heli-ski trip in the Chugach Mountains near Girdwood were halted because of dangerous conditions and difficult terrain — and may not resume until conditions improve,

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 dozens of feet of snow, Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday.

The depth of the snow kept the heli-ski company from being able to recover the skiers Tuesday, an Alaska State Troopers spokesman said.

Officials at the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center have confirmed that three skiers on a heli-skiing tour died in an avalanche near Girdwood, Alaska, southeast of Anchorage, this week. The avalanche occurred on March 4 at about 3:30 pm.