N.H. Native Among Two US Ski Team Prospects Dead in Austria Avalanche
SOELDEN, Austria (AP) — A New Hampshire native was one of two prospects from the U.S. ski team who were killed in an avalanche while skiing near their European training base in the Austrian Alps.
The U.S. ski team says Ronnie Berlack, 20, from Franconia, N.H., and Bryce Astle, 19, died Monday in the incident near Rettenbach glacier, the venue for the annual season-opening World Cup races. Berlack had been attending Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont.
“Ronnie and Bryce were both outstanding ski racers who were passionate about their sport – both on the race course and skiing the mountain,’’ U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Tiger Shaw said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the Berlack and Astle families, as well as to their extended sport family. Both of them loved what they did and conveyed that to those around them.’’
Berlack and Astle, of Sandy, Utah, were part of a group of six skiers who were descending from the 3,056-meter Gaislachkogel when they left the prepared slope and apparently set off the avalanche. The other four escaped unhurt.
Officials in the Tyrolean region say avalanche alert had been declared for the area after days of heavy snowfall and mild temperatures.
U.S. Alpine director Patrick Riml says the team ‘‘is in shock.’’
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