bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agencies

Three renowned professional alpinists are missing and presumed dead after an avalanche in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, Parks Canada said on Thursday.
Climbing media named the men as American Jess Roskelley, 36, and Austrians David Lama, 28, and Hansjörg Auer, 35, saying they were killed after attempting to climb a challenging route on Howse Peak in Banff National Park.

Canadian authorities did not release the names of the three men, but said they were one American and two Europeans and described them as highly experienced professional mountain athletes.
Roskelley was best-known for climbing Mount Everest aged 20 in 2003, making him the youngest person at the time to have climbed the world’s highest mountain.
Lama and Auer were also world-class mountaineers who had climbed some of the toughest routes around the globe.
Parks Canada said in a statement the party was attempting the east face of Howse Peak. The three men probably started their ascent on Tuesday, Stephen Holeczi, Parks Canada visitor safety specialist said.
They were reported overdue on Wednesday.
“Parks Canada visitor safety specialists immediately responded by air and observed signs of multiple avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment,” the statement said.
Without providing details, Holeczi said there was “strong evidence” all three climbers were killed.
There currently is no timeline for when search and recovery efforts can begin, Holeczi said, because of bad weather and avalanche risk in the area.
“Parks Canada extends its sincerest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the mountaineers,” Parks Canada said in a statement.
Roskelley’s father, John Roskelley, was himself a world-renowned climber who had many notable ascents in Nepal and Pakistan, mostly in the 1970s. John Roskelley joined his son on the successful Everest expedition in 2003.
Jess Roskelley grew up in Spokane, Washington, where his father was a county commissioner. John Roskelley told The Spokesman-Review the route his son and the other climbers were attempting was first done in 2000.


“It’s just one of those routes where you have to have the right conditions or it turns into a nightmare. This is one of those trips where it turned into a nightmare,” John Roskelly said.
John Roskelley had climbed the 10,810-foot Howse Peak, via a different route, in the 1970s and knows the area well. On Thursday he was preparing to go to Canada to gather Jess Roskelley’s belongings and see if he could get into the area.
“It’s in an area above a basin,” he said. “There must have been a lot of snow that came down and got them off the face.”
The elder Roskelley said: “When you’re climbing mountains, danger is not too far away … It’s terrible for my wife and I. But it’s even worse for his wife.”
Reuters and Associated Press


Climber convicted after girlfriend freezes to death on Austrian mountain

Why Taipei 101 climber Alex Honnold loves free soloing buildings and what he’s eyeing next

US climber conquers Taipei’s tallest building without safety gear

US climber hopes ascent of Taipei 101 inspires others to use time in ‘most meaningful way’

Climbing and mountaineering

World-class climbers Jess Roskelley, David Lama and Hansjörg Auer presumed killed in avalanche in Banff, Canada

Howse Peak, Mount Chephren and Waterfowl Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Photo: Photononstop

FILE - In this March 13, 2003 file photo, Jess Roskelley, then 20, answers questions during a news conference in Seattle. Jess Roskelley that year successfully climbed Mount Everest with his father, John Roskelley, becoming the youngest American to reach the top of the world's tallest peak. On Thursday, April 18, 2019, the apparel company The North Face said three members of its Global Athlete Team, including Jess Roskelley, are missing and presumed dead after an avalanche in Alberta's Banff National Park. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Avalanche kills skier, injures another in New Mexico’s Taos Ski Valley

People search for victims after the avalanche in New Mexico on Thursday, January 17, 2019. Photo: AP

FILE PHOTO: People ride a ski lift at Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico, in December 2007. REUTERS/Christa Cameron/File Photo

People search for victims after an avalanche buried multiple people near the highest peak of Taos Ski Valley, one of the biggest resorts in New Mexico, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019. The avalanche rushed down the mountainside of the New Mexico ski resort on Thursday, injuring at least a few people who were pulled from the snow after a roughly 20-minute rescue effort, a resort spokesman said. (Morgan Timms/Taos News via AP)

At least 12 dead in winter storms, as avalanches and high winds hammer Europe

Snow has blocked roads across Austria, like this one in Ramsau am Dachstein. Photo: AFP

A snow plough clears the street where visibility is poor on the Schauinsland mountain near Hofsgrund, southern Germany, on January 8, 2019. (Photo by Patrick Seeger / dpa / AFP) / Germany OUT

A person is seen walking behind a high snow cover on January 8, 2019 in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria. (Photo by HARALD SCHNEIDER / APA / AFP) / Austria OUT

epa07259927 Volountary rescue workers Kenneth Bratltli Molund (L) and Vegard Lindbæk of the Norwegian People's Aid near a snow scooter in Tamokdalen, Northern Norway, 03 January 2019. The search for four missing skiers in Tamokdalen was suspended due to bad weather and increasing lavine hazard in the area. EPA-EFE/Terje Bendiksby NORWAY OUT

A picture taken on January 8, 2019 shows a cat playing in the snow in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria. (Photo by HARALD SCHNEIDER / APA / AFP) / Austria OUT

epa07269278 A man tries to pick up bags from the lost containers of the MSC Zoe in Lauwersoog, The Netherlands, 08 January 2019, as stormy winds blow across the country. The MSC Zoe container ship lost about 280 containers at sea during a heavy storm on 02 January, and their content washed up North Sea's islands. EPA-EFE/REMKO DE WAAL

epa07269287 A woman walks while a bulldozer clean up the road from snow at Agios Stefanos suburb, in northern Athens, Greece, 08 January 2019. The cold front 'Tilemachos' brought low temperatures in all over Greece and snowfalls even in the centre of Athens. In many parts of Greece, most of the schools will remain closed in order to avoid possible accidents. Police have taken measures and closed off vehicle access to many regional roads to prevent accidents. EPA-EFE/ALEXANDROS VLACHOS

News

World

United States & Canada

Europe

Trio were trying a challenging route on Howse Peak in the Rocky Mountains when they went missing
Safety specialists spotted signs of several avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment


Jess Roskelley, David Lama and Hansjörg Auer were trying a challenging route on Howse Peak in the Rocky Mountains when they went missing.


Canada

World-class climbers Jess Roskelley, David Lama and Hansjörg Auer presumed killed in avalanche in Banff, Canada

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Trio were trying a challenging route on Howse Peak in the Rocky Mountains when they went missing Safety specialists spotted signs of several avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment

Trio were trying a challenging route on Howse Peak in the Rocky Mountains when they went missing

Safety specialists spotted signs of several avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment