Bodies of three mountain climbers recovered after last week’s Banff avalanche

BANFF, Alta. — The bodies have been recovered of three renowned mountain climbers who were believed to have been caught in a large avalanche in Banff National Park last week.

Efforts to find the men — American Jess Roskelley and Austrians David Lama and Hansjorg Auer — had been hampered by poor weather and dangerous conditions.

But on Sunday afternoon, Parks Canada said in a statement that all three had been found dead.

FINAL-EN FR Parks Canada Statement_Recovery_April 21 2019

The men disappeared while attempting to climb the east face of Howse Peak in the Icefields Parkway and were reported overdue on Wednesday.

Parks Canada’s mountain safety team responded by helicopter and saw signs of multiple avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment, but a further search was put on hold until conditions improved.

 

A visitor safety specialist with the agency said last week that the slide was believed to be a Size 3 avalanche, which is big enough to bury a car or destroy a small building.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said last week that Lama, 28, and Auer, 35, had “shaped the international climbing and alpinist scene in recent years with many achievements.”

The Canadian Press

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