As those of you who have read my musings on my state for any length of time know, I'm fond of describing Alaska with four words: Vast, clean, wild, and free. But like a lot of environments, a lot of wild places, Alaska can be dangerous, especially for those who are unprepared.

Case in point: On Tuesday, a trio of heli-skiers were caught up in an avalanche near Girdwood. All three are believed dead.

Alaska State Troopers say a team will assess whether they can safely pursue recovery attempts of three heli-skiers who were caught in an avalanche outside Girdwood on Tuesday.

The avalanche hit around 3:30 p.m. near the west fork of Twentymile River, troopers said, about 10 miles south down the Seward Highway from Girdwood.

Troopers confirmed Wednesday morning that Chugach Powder Guides was the company providing access to the slopes for the heli-skiers.

According to troopers, rescue attempts on Tuesday were unsuccessful by the commercial heliskiing operation connected to the three skiers.

AST spokesperson Austin McDaniel said troopers had yet to assess the avalanche site as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, but based on what troopers currently know, they “do not believe that any of the three missing persons survived the avalanche.”

I'm pretty familiar with that area, even though it's a way from my Susitna Valley digs. I've done some fishing in the area and am familiar with the Twentymile, which is near the rugged peaks of the Chugach National Forest. It's a beautiful area, but it can be dangerous, especially in winter - maybe even more so when melting makes the snowpack unstable.

That's what happened on Tuesday, according to KTTU's report linked above:

According to Alaska State Troopers, it is believed three heli-skiers caught in a large avalanche Tuesday afternoon near the west fork of Twentymile River are dead. Recovery efforts have been unsuccessful. The avalanche danger will likely rise through the day, as our next storm builds into Southcentral.

Troopers say the ski guides attempting the rescue used avalanche beacons to locate the skiers. With the aid of the beacons, the guides found a “probable area” that contained the buried skiers between 40 and 100 feet below the surface.

On March 4, 2025, at 5:10 pm, the Alaska Wildlife Troopers were notified of an avalanche near the West Fork of 20 Mile River near Girdwood. A preliminary investigation determined three adult heliskiers were caught in a large avalanche around 3:30 pm. Guides from the commercial…

— Alaska State Troopers (@akstatetrooper) March 5, 2025

The Alaska State Troopers' X post continues:

Guides from the commercial heliskiing operation that the group was with immediately attempted to locate the three skiers. Using avalanche beacons, the guides identified a probable area where skiers were buried between 40 feet and nearly 100 feet deep. The guides were unable to recover the three skiers due to the depth.

Due to considerable avalanche risk in this area and limited daylight, no further recovery operations were conducted on March 4th. Today, Troopers plan to assess the area to determine if recovery operations can safely be conducted.

As of this writing, the weather is reportedly not cooperating, and to be perfectly candid, if the estimates are correct and the skiers are indeed under 40 to 100 feet of packed snow, their bodies may not be retrieved until spring or early summer.

See Related: Rescue Effort Underway for Missing Bering Air Plane Bound for Nome

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This sad event serves as a reminder: Set against the full power, scope, and scale of nature, we humans are pretty puny. Alaska has a way of hammering that message home now and then. People disappear into the wild places almost every year, and in many cases, their fate is never known; it's as though the bush just swallowed them up. In the years we lived in Colorado, you saw the same kind of thing happen in that and the other mountain states, usually with people inexperienced, unprepared, or both. Nature can be beautiful, but the woods, the mountains, and the critters who live in them don't care about people or whether we live or die.

It's unknown as to whether these heliskiers were experienced with late winter in that area. At this point, we don't know if they were from Alaska or from Outside. But the heli-skiing charter company should have known that conditions weren't ideal and should bear some responsibility for this disaster.

It can be a harsh world out there. If you're going out, make a point of knowing what weather to expect, know the terrain, dress accordingly, make sure you have all the equipment you need, a means to start a fire, and some clean water or a water filter. And stay off unstable snowfields in late winter!

Plan, stay prepared, and be careful.