A Queens woman was identified as one of the three tri-state area climbers killed while attempting to ascend a steep peak in Washington state over the weekend, according to local officials.
Jeannie Lee, 60, lived in Bayside, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday. The other fatal victims were New Jersey man Yun Park, 66, of Palisades Parkway, and Seong Cho, 54, who was a Korean national staying in West Hartford, Connecticut, sheriff officials said.
The bodies of the three hikers remained buried near Colchuck Peak Wednesday as rescuers continued to face tough winter conditions.
The trio were among six climbers on the trip that got caught up in the Sunday snow slide.
One person, a 56-year-old New Yorker, sustained minor injuries. Two other hikers, a 50-year-old New York man and 36-year-old New Jersey man were unhurt, the sheriff’s office said.
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A seventh hiker, from Maryland, who stayed behind at base camp was able to contact authorities for help after traveling hours by foot overnight into Monday, a sheriff’s official previously said.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Reinfeld said Wednesday the hikers were part of a New York climbing club, but did not have more information about it. It’s unclear how much experience they had for the treacherous endeavor.
Two avalanche experts visited the scene Wednesday to evaluate conditions, Reinfeld said. High winds, heavy snowfall and the chance of another avalanche have prevented any recovery operation so far.
“Recovery efforts from this point forward will be based on avalanche and weather conditions as well as overall rescuer safety,” the sheriff’s office said in Wednesday’s news release.
With Post wires
