Back-to-back avalanches in US kill 2 skiers

Two skiers were killed and at least two were left injured in two different snow-related accidents that hit regions across the West and Northwest last week.

A skier, Corey J Zalewski's body was recovered during a recovery mission on Friday after an avalanche hit a backcountry area of Shoshone County, Idaho, the day before, the sheriff's office of the county revealed.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Corey's family as they are remembering the life of this great man," the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Facebook.

According to Captain Seth Green, an official of the sheriff’s office, Zalewski was among three skiers who were caught in the avalanche but the other two — Landon E Crecelius and David R Sittser — were found alive amid rough weather conditions.

Rescue workers found the two near Steven’s Peak after getting in contact with the individuals via a GPS device that also enabled texting, CNN reported.

After the incident on Thursday, Green revealed one of the survivors reported having a broken arm.

Additionally, on the same day, the occupants of two vehicles were rescued after being stuck in an avalanche on State Highway 21 in Boise, according to a news release from the Idaho Transportation Department.

Earlier this week, a 66-year-old skier, Kenneth Kidd, was killed Wednesday in another avalanche at a Lake Tahoe-area ski resort in California, authorities said.

Australian skiers Hannah Sugerman, her brother Oliver Thompson and her partner Callum, were among three survivors from Wednesday’s accident at Palisades Tahoe, formerly known as Squaw Valley and the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, The New York Post reported.

The trio were caught in the landslide after a fierce storm left snow pummelling down the mountain which left a total of three injured and another person dead.

Sugerman said she had no idea the avalanche was coming but could feel "everything rolling around underneath" her feet.

"And it just felt heavy, like so heavy. The snow weighed far more than I ever could have imagined," she told Nine News.