It was too cloudy Thursday for the sheriff's office to send a helicopter to survey the site, said sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Reinfeld.
WASHINGTON AVALANCHE KILLS 3 CLIMBERS ON COLCHUCK PEAK
The victims were Seong Cho, a 54-year-old male Korean citizen from West Hartford, Connecticut; Jeannie Lee, a 60-year-old woman from Bayside, New York; and Yun Park, a 66-year-old man from Palisades Park, New Jersey. They were members of a climbing club based in New York, the sheriff's office said.
Three climbers were killed in an avalanche on Colchuck Peak in Washington on Feb. 19, 2023. Authorities have no plans to attempt to recover the bodies. (Chelan County Sheriff's Office)
They were killed Sunday as they ascended a steep, snow-packed gulley on the 8,705-foot Colchuck Peak, about 70 miles east of Seattle. A fourth member of their party was also caught up in the slide, but suffered only minor injuries and was able to verify that the three had died before additional avalanches covered the bodies.
The avalanche was the the deadliest in the U.S. since four backcountry skiers were killed in an avalanche in Utah two years ago.