Avalanche kills Kiwi

A grieving husband will miss his wife – killed in an avalanche in northern Italy – ‘‘beyond words’’. Former Otago woman Katherine Clarke was one of four skiers buried in snow near the resort of Courmayeur, on Sunday afternoon. The 39-year-old New Zealander was a corporate lawyer with Barclays Bank in London. Jim Clarke-Sullivan, who also worked at the bank, said ‘‘words cannot describe the loss we feel’’. The couple, who had been together for 14 years, were to celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary this week. ClarkeSullivan, who is from Dunedin, said he had many stories to tell to his daughter about her mum, who was ‘‘always brave, always calm, bright and happy’’. She was an experienced back country skier, and was the first New Zealand woman to have climbed and skied the three highest peaks of Greenland.