Avalanche in Washington’s Cascade Mountains Leaves 3 Dead, 1 Injured

Eric Gullickson, front left, an avalanche instructor with the Northwest Avalanche Center, leads teenagers on an avalanche awareness field trip at Mount Baker, Wash., on Jan. 11, 2016. Elaine Thompson/AP Photo

Three people were killed and one person suffered injuries on Feb. 19 after an avalanche struck Washington state’s Cascade Mountains while they were attempting to reach a peak, officials have said.

According to a preliminary report from the Northwest Avalanche Center, a group of six climbers were ascending the Northeast Couloir of Colchuck Peak, an 8,705-foot (2,653 meters) mountain summit located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) east of Seattle in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, on Sunday when the lead climber triggered an avalanche at approximately 1:15 p.m.