U.S. ski team prospects die in avalanche

Two prospects from the U.S. ski team were killed in an avalanche Monday while skiing near their European training base in the Austrian Alps. The U.S. ski team said Bryce Astle, 19, pictured, and Ronnie Berlack, 20, died in the incident near the Rettenbach glacier near Soelden, the venue for the annual season-opening World Cup races. Berlack and Astle were part of a group of six skiers who were descending from the 3,056-metre Gaislachkogel when they left the prepared slope and apparently set off the avalanche. The other four skied out of the slide and escaped unhurt. Officials in the region said an avalanche alert had been declared for the area after days of heavy snowfall and mild temperatures. The deaths have left the U.S. ski team “in shock,” U.S. ski team alpine director Patrick Riml told The Associated Press in Zagreb, Croatia, where the American slalom team was preparing for a night race on Tuesday. Berlack and Astle were part of a group of 10 skiers on the development team who gained experience in the Europa Cup and were preparing to race on the top-level World Cup.