The avalanche caught four of the climbers, carrying them about 500 feet down the slope. As a result of traumatic injuries from the fall, three of these climbers died, officials said.
One of the four caught in the avalanche survived. Despite sustaining injuries, the 56-year-old man from New York was able to confirm that the other three were killed and hiked back to their base camp at Colchuck Lake, Sgt. Jason Reinfeld told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The surviving climber hiked back to the base camp with the other two members of the group, a 50-year-old man from New York and a 36-year-old man from New Jersey who were not swept away by the avalanche. The two climbers who not caught in the avalanche saw three additional avalanches come down, burying two of the deceased climbers.
Reinfeld said that seventh person, who remained at base camp and did not participate in Sunday's climb, went out for help. He hiked a strenuous, overnight journey – including a descent of about 4,000 vertical feet over 8 miles – and was able to contact the sheriff's office by 8 a.m. Monday.
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