A 24-year-old snowboarder was buried in an avalanche Tuesday and presumed dead, authorities said.
Conditions were too severe to launch an immediate search for Brendan J. Smart, said Alaska State Troopers spokesman Greg Wilkinson.
Smart was on a slope with two other men when the avalanche struck mid-afternoon. The others escaped without injury.
The two survivors carried location beacons, but said they were unable to locate the buried snowboarder’s beacon signal, Wilkinson said. It was not known if Smart had his beacon with him.
The avalanche fell from the 1,600-foot level of Marmot Mountain, cascading down over the snowboarder and into a ravine.
The area, located 50 miles north of Anchorage, has been the site of previous avalanches, Wilkinson said.