Avalanche in Washington’s Cascade Mountains kills 3

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Heavy snowfall and winds are keeping searchers from reaching a remote peak in Washington’s Cascade Mountains, where an avalanche killed three people. Authorities say the slide struck Sunday as a group of six climbers were ascending a steep gulley on the 8,705-foot Colchuck Peak, about 70 miles east of Seattle. Four of the climbers were swept about 500 feet down. The one who survived was able to confirm that the other three were killed. Another member of the party hiked out by Monday morning to get help. Those killed were a 53-year-old man from Connecticut, 60-year-old woman from New York and 66-year-old man from New Jersey.