ANCHORAGE - 
 
 Alaska State Troopers say two men skiing in the Rainbow Mountains were caught in an avalanche Saturday afternoon, with one killed and the other digging himself out from the snow to summon help. 
 
 
 
 In a Sunday AST dispatch, troopers say the dead man is “tentatively identified” as 35-year-old Eric Peterson of Delta Junction. AST spokeswoman says Peterson's next of kin have been notified, but his body hasn’t been recovered. 
 
 
 
 Black Rapids Lodge volunteer David Savage, about 20 miles down the road from the site of the avalanche, said Sunday that the lodge is owned by the man troopers named as the surviving skier -- 63-year-old Fairbanks resident Michael Hopper. According to Savage, Hopper has spent a lot of time in the mountains around Black Rapids, and the lodge holds a course in avalanche safety ever year. 
 
 
 
 “Mike is very educated in those mountains,” Savage said. “Those mountains can be unpredictable.” 
 
 
 
 Troopers say the avalanche occurred almost directly behind the two skiers. 
 
 
 
 “It was reported that (Hopper) had been skiing with a man tentatively identified as (Peterson) when they heard a ‘whoomp’ from the snow about 20 feet above them,” troopers wrote. “Hopper reported it took him 2-3 hours to dig himself out. Once he was free he located Peterson’s glove and dug down and found Peterson deceased.” 
 
 
 
 Kimberly McRoberts told Channel 2 she was driving at about Mile 205 on the Richardson Highway at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday when she saw a headlamp near the road. She drove on for about a mile, then turned around and spoke with Hopper, who said she was the second motorist to spot him; he had used the first driver's cellphone to call 911, and was seeking a ride north. 
 
 
 
 In addition to AST, military members from Black Rapids as well as the Fort Greely Fire Department and Rural Delta Fire and Rescue responded to the scene. 
 
 
 
 “The area Hopper was skiing in is widely unstable and continuing to deteriorate with the additional heavy snowfall,” troopers wrote. “AST will attempt to recover the body when the weather and conditions permit.” 
 
 
 
 This is a developing story. Please check KTUU.com and the Channel 2 newscasts for updates. 
 
 
 
 Channel 2’s Chris Klint contributed information to this story. ||||| Well-equipped and familiar with the terrain, about a dozen expert skiers were making their way through a foot-and-a half of fresh snow when an avalanche hit them in an out-of-bounds area near a popular Washington ski resort. 
 
 Three men were killed Sunday when they were swept about a quarter-mile down a canyon, and a fourth skier caught up in the slide was saved by a safety device, authorities said. The large group had split into three smaller groups before the avalanche, but all the backcountry skiers were buried to some extent. Those who were able to free themselves rushed to dig out the victims and unsuccessfully performed CPR on the three, believed to be in their 30s and 40s. 
 
 "Most of the people involved in this were well-known to the ski community up here, especially to the ski patrol," said Deputy Chris Bedker of the King County Sheriff's search-and-rescue unit. "It was their friends who they recovered." 
 
 The Stevens Pass fatalities were part of a deadly Sunday on Washington ski slopes. A male snowboarder was killed in a separate avalanche incident at the Alpental ski area east of Seattle, authorities said. 
 
 The men who died on Stevens Pass tumbled approximately 1,500 feet down a chute in the Tunnel Creek Canyon area, King County Sheriff's Sgt. Katie Larson said. 
 
 The fourth skier who was swept down the mountain about 80 miles northeast of Seattle was a woman who appeared to avoid a similar fate because of the avalanche safety device she was wearing, Larson said. 
 
 ESPN.com identified the survivor as professional skier Elyse Saugstad, who said she used an airbag after the avalanche hit. ESPN Freeskiing editor Megan Michelson was among the skiers and was uninjured, it said. 
 
 Michelson said the initial slide was about 30 feet wide and three feet deep, but quickly grew as it swept away Saugstad and the three victims. 
 
 Saugstad said she immediately deployed the airbag from her backpack, crediting it with saving her life. 
 
 "I was completely buried except for my head and hands" after coming to a rest, she said. 
 
 Two of the victims were found nearby, while the third was carried "several hundred feet" farther down the mountain, Saugstad said. 
 
 Michelson said the remaining skiers called for help and skied the length of the avalanche track looking for victims, Michelson said. 
 
 "The debris pile at the bottom was massive," Michelson said. 
 
 Initial reports of the avalanche reached the sheriff's office just after noon, and for some time it wasn't clear whether the other skiers had also been swept up in the slide. 
 
 The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center on Sunday issued a warning for high avalanche danger for areas above 5,000 feet, saying warmer weather could loosen surface snow and trigger a slide on steeper slopes. The elevation of the avalanche wasn't immediately clear. 
 
 At mid-afternoon, the temperature at the base of the Stevens Pass ski resort was 24 degrees, with light winds and good visibility. The temperature at the top of the mountain was 22 degrees, according to the resort's website. 
 
 John Gifford, the ski area's general manager, said Sunday that the resort had received 19 inches of snow in the past 24 hours. 
 
 He described the area as a popular backcountry skiing zone that can be easily accessed from the resort. 
 
 He said the slopes there are steeper than at the resort and lack the resort's avalanche control 
 
 "You need to be a highly skilled skier to do that," he said. 
 
 Stevens Pass is one of the most popular outdoor recreation areas in the state, with visitors flocking to the scenic site to go cross-country, back-country and downhill skiing, as well as snowshoeing and backpacking. 
 
 Across the West, there had been 13 avalanche deaths this season as of Thursday, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which tracks avalanche deaths in the U.S. 
 
 Experts have said the risk of additional slides in the region could remain high all season. They attribute the dangers in part to a weak base layer of snow caused by a dry winter. 
 
 Avalanche deaths are more common in the backcountry than at ski resorts. Out of about 900 avalanche deaths nationwide since the winter of 1950-51, 32 were within terrain that was open for riding at ski resorts, according to the Utah Avalanche Center. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press Writer Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report. ||||| KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Search teams recovered a 13th body Saturday from the snow and ice covering a dangerous climbing pass on Mount Everest, where an avalanche a day earlier swept over a group of Sherpa guides in the deadliest disaster on the world's highest peak. 
 
 FILE - In this Saturday May 17, 2003 file photo, a view of the Kumbhu icefall, the first hurdle in the ascent to Everest from base camp, is seen from Everest Base camp, where 12 Nepalese guides were killed,... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Sunday, May 18, 2003 file photo, mountaineers pass through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall on their way to Mount Everest near Everest Base camp, Nepal. An avalanche swept down a climbing... (Associated Press) 
 
 Father and sons of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, wait for his body to arrive at Sherpa Monastery in Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 19, 2014. Rescuers... (Associated Press) 
 
 The body of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, is carried to the Sherpa Monastery in Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 19, 2014. Search teams recovered a 13th... (Associated Press) 
 
 Daughter of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, cries as her father's body is brought to the Sherpa Monastery in Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 19, 2014. Rescuers... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this May 18, 2013 file photo released by mountain guide Adrian Ballinger of Alpenglow Expeditions, climbers make their way to the summit of Mount Everest, in the Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalayas.... (Associated Press) 
 
 A relative of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, cries as she waits for his body at Sherpa Monastery in Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 19, 2014. Rescuers... (Associated Press) 
 
 Mother of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, cries while she waits for his body at Sherpa Monastery in Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 19, 2014. Rescuers were... (Associated Press) 
 
 Family members of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, cry as his body is brought to the Sherpa Monastery in Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday, April 19, 2014. Rescuers... (Associated Press) 
 
 Another three guides remained missing, and searchers were working quickly to find them in case weather conditions deteriorated, said Maddhu Sunan Burlakoti, head of the Nepalese government's mountaineering department. But the painstaking effort involved testing the strength of newly fallen snow and using extra ropes, clamps and aluminum ladders to navigate the unstable field. 
 
 The avalanche barreled down a narrow climbing pass known as the "popcorn field" for its bulging chunks of ice at about 6:30 a.m. Friday. The group of about 25 Sherpa guides were the first people making their way up this climbing season to dig paths and fix ropes for their foreign clients to use in attempting to reach the summit next month. 
 
 One of the survivors told his relatives that the path had been unstable just before the snow slide hit at an elevation near 5,800 meters (19,000 feet). The area is considered particularly dangerous due to its steep slope and deep crevasses that cut through the snow and ice covering the pass year round. 
 
 As soon as the avalanche occurred, rescuers, guides and climbers rushed to help, and all other climbing was suspended. 
 
 Seven of the 12 bodies pulled out and brought down Friday were handed over to their families in the Everest region, while the other five were taken to Katmandu, Nepal's capital. 
 
 Four survivors were conscious and being treated in the intensive care units of several Katmandu hospitals for broken ribs, fractured limbs, punctured lungs and skin abrasions, according to Dr. C.R. Pandey from Grande Hospital. Others were treated for less serious injuries at the Everest base camp. 
 
 Hundreds of climbers, guides and support crews had been at Everest's base camp preparing to climb the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak when weather conditions are most favorable next month. As with each year, the Sherpa guides from each of the expedition teams had been working together to prepare the path by carving routes through the ice, fixing ropes on the slopes and setting up camps at higher altitudes. 
 
 One of the injured guides, Dawa Tashi, said the Sherpas were delayed on their way up the slope because the path was unsteady. With little warning, a wall of snow crashed down on the group and buried many of them, according to Tashi's sister-in-law, Dawa Yanju. Doctors said Tashi, who was partially buried in the snowfall, suffered several broken ribs. 
 
 The Sherpa people are one of the main ethnic groups in Nepal's alpine region, and many make their living as climbing guides on Everest and other Himalayan peaks. 
 
 More than 4,000 climbers have summited Everest since 1953, when it was first conquered by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Hundreds have died trying. 
 
 The worst recorded disaster on Everest had been a fierce blizzard on May 11, 1996, that caused the deaths of eight climbers, including famed mountaineer Rob Hall, and was later memorialized in a book, "Into Thin Air," by Jon Krakauer. Six Nepalese guides were killed in an avalanche in 1970. 
 
 Earlier this year, Nepal announced several steps to better manage the heavy flow of climbers and speed up rescue operations. The steps included the dispatch of officials and security personnel to the base camp at (5,300 meters) 17,380 feet, where they will stay throughout the spring climbing season, which ends in May.
– A backcountry skier in the upper reaches of Alaska died after he was buried in a surprise avalanche in the Rainbow Mountains on Saturday evening, the Alaska Dispatch News reports. Eric Peterson, 35, and his friend, 63-year-old Michael Hopper, had been enjoying their late-afternoon ski when the two heard a "whoomp" sound from about 20 feet above them, an Alaska State Troopers dispatch noted yesterday. The snow barreled down the mountain and covered the two men, but Hopper was able to extricate himself after two to three hours of strenuous digging. He found his friend's glove and started clawing through the snow until he got to Peterson's body, at which point he hightailed it to the Richardson Highway to find help. David Savage, a volunteer at the Lodge at Black Rapids about 20 miles away, says Hopper is the owner of the lodge and very familiar with weather conditions in that neck of the woods, spending plenty of time in the mountains there and even holding an avalanche safety course once a year at the lodge, KTUU reports. "Mike is very educated in those mountains," Savage says, adding, "Those mountains can be unpredictable." Indeed, the trooper dispatch noted that where Hopper and Peterson were skiing "is widely unstable and continuing to deteriorate with the additional heavy snowfall," which is holding up efforts to recover Peterson's body. His family has been notified of his death, KTUU notes. (Avalanches could possibly halt future Everest attempts.)