A man died Wednesday afternoon after becoming buried in an avalanche in the Takshanuk Mountain area near Haines, the Alaska State Troopers said.
David Dzenawagis, 34, of Haines, was snowboarding on the mountain with two skiers at about 1,400 feet when one of the skiers triggered the avalanche, Trooper Chris Umbs said.
Dzenawagis was buried in 3 to 5 feet of snow for seven or eight minutes before the two skiers were able to pull him out. The three men were about an hour’s walk from the trailhead at the time, Umbs said.
Ted Cheney, 36, and Theodore Hart, 33, both of Haines, tried to resuscitate Dzenawagis, calling 911 about 20 minutes later. They stopped CPR about 35 minutes after calling for help, troopers said.
Emergency responders from the Haines Fire Department who responded in a helicopter pronounced him dead at the scene, troopers said.
Dzenawagis’ body will be autopsied by the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage.
Cheney and Hart were uninjured and walked back to the trailhead on their own.
On Saturday, another man was killed in an avalanche while backcountry skiing on the Kenai Peninsula.
An avalanche warning was issued Wednesday for areas surrounding Turnagain Pass.