Two young American members of the U.S. ski team were killed on Monday in an avalanche while skiing in the western Austrian resort of Soelden, the team said on Monday.
The promising junior members, 20-year-old Ronnie Berlack and 19-year-old Bryce Astle, "were among a group of six athletes free-skiing at the Austrian resort" when they got caught in a slide, the U.S. ski team said in a statement. "The other four skied out of the slide" and survived without getting injured, USA Today reported.
Since warmer temperatures had followed heavy snowfall in recent days, a level-three avalanche risk warning -- out of five -- had been declared in the area.
"Ronnie and Bryce were both outstanding ski racers who were passionate about their sport -- both on the race course and skiing the mountain," the statement quoted U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association head and CEO Tiger Shaw as saying.
"Our hearts go out to the Berlack and Astle families, as well as to their extended sport family. Both of them loved what they did and conveyed that to those around them."
Berlack, of Franconia, grew up racing in New Hampshire and had been a student-athlete at Vermont's Burke Mountain Academy, according to the team's website. Following two top-20 results at the 2013 U.S. Alpine Championships, he was named to the U.S. "Development" team this winter. Last month, he was also a forerunner at the men's World Cup races in Beaver Creek, Colo., according to CBS News.
"Ronnie embodied a love of the mountains and boundless positive energy. He was always upbeat and he was super connected to people in the ski racing world," Jory Macomber, Berlack's coach at Franconia Ski Club, said in a statement Monday.
"Whenever I brought up his name, people would smile and share wonderful stories. We will really miss him."
"Ronnie has been a vital part of BMA since he was a young boy, from his father Steve's long involvement at Burke, skiing with us from when he was a J4, attending BMA through his post-graduate year, and remaining part of BMA until this tragic accident. Only last week Ronnie was here at BMA training with us," Burke Mountain Academy's Headmaster Kirk Dwyer said in a statement.
Astle, of Sandy, had raced at Snowbird in Utah and had been invited to train with the development team this season. He had posted strong early results, including two top-10 NorAm Cup finishes last month in Canada.
Meanwhile, the tragedy has left the team "in shock," U.S. alpine director Patrick Riml told The Associated Press.
"We are all very close," Riml said. "We train a lot in Park City. We'll see how they handle the whole thing and how they react."
"It's a shock for everybody. Two great boys, great athletes, good skiers. They were fun to have around. We are all in shock, still. It's very tragic," he added.
Friends and fans can leave messages on the U.S. team's Facebook page.
