5 missing skiers found dead in Swiss Alps, search for 6th continues: "We were trying the impossible"

Five cross-country skiers - including members of the same Swiss family - were found dead along a high Alpine ridge after going missing over the weekend near Switzerland's famed Matterhorn, Swiss police said Monday. Another skier remains missing.

Christian Varone, commander of Valais regional police, told a news conference in Sion, Switzerland, that six skiers set out in "relatively good" conditions on Saturday but that the situation deteriorated quickly. The weather conditions became "catastrophic," with freezing temperatures and a significant avalanche risk, Varone said.

They were on a route between the resort town of Zermatt, at the foot of the Matterhorn, and the village of Arolla, near the border with Italy.