Skier dies, 2 others injured after falling about 1,000 feet in Alaska avalanche: "They had all the right gear"

An avalanche on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula killed one backcountry skier and injured two others, prompting warnings for people to stay away from steep slopes as warm weather and high winds raise the risk of more snowslides around the state. Authorties said the skiers had all the right gear but "it still proved deadly."

The avalanche occurred Tuesday afternoon between the communities of Cooper Landing and Moose Pass in the Chugach National Forest, about 90 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska State Troopers wrote in an online report Wednesday.

It occurred as the three men hiked up a mountain about a mile east off the Seward Highway, the main thoroughfare between Anchorage and Seward, so they could ski back down, officials said.