Three climbers killed in avalanche

WENATCHEE – The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office reports three climbers died after the lead climber triggered an avalanche Sunday as a group of six were attempting to climb Colchuck Peak, located about eight miles south of Leavenworth.

Sheriff Mike Morrison reports that on Monday, deputies were contacted at the sheriff substation in Leavenworth about an avalanche that occurred near Colchuck Lake on Sunday. The reporting party, a 53-year-old Maryland man said the group he was with had attempted to climb Colchuck Peak on Sunday. There were six climbers in the group, and he had stayed at their base camp that day.

Morrison said four of the climbers were swept down the steep mountainside approximately 500 feet. Three of the climbers died as a result of trauma sustained in the fall. They were Seong Cho, 54, a Korean national living in Connecticut; Jeannie Lee, 60, from Bayside, New York; and Yun Park, 66, of Palisades Park, New Jersey. The fourth climber, a 56-year-old man from New York, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was able to hike back to base camp with the remaining two: a 50-year-old man from New York and a 36-year-old man from New Jersey. When the survivors arrived at camp, they sent the reporting party for help and confirmed that the other three had died.

A search and rescue group escorted the surviving climbers back to the trailhead. However, they determined avalanche conditions were too hazardous to continue to the deceased climbers. The sheriff’s office said that no one in the group had a beacon, which is considered vital back-country equipment that transmits its wearer’s location at all times. The group also were not equipped with an avalanche probe and shovel.

The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Northwest Avalanche Center to assist in a recovery plan.

Colchuck Peak photo via Chelan County Sheriff’s Office

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Elkhorn Media Group

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