A mountain climber from Washington is among three missing after the trio were presumed to have been caught in an avalanche in Canada, according to a statement. The mountain climbers were a part of The North Face’s global athlete team.
“They are missing and we are waiting for additional information as the search mission continues,” the company said in a statement. The avalanche in Alberta, Canada occurred on April 16, according to North Face.
The three climbers were identified as Jess Roskelley, David Lama and Hansjörg Auer. Rosskelley is a climber from Spokane, according to The Spokane Review. Auer, 35, and Lama, 28, are climbers from Austria.
The paper reported that Rosskelley, 36, was attempting a difficult route in the Canadian Rockies.
Rosskelley was supposed to call his father, John Rosskelley, on Tuesday night but he never did, according to the Review. His father, also a renowned climber, called Parks Canada, who searched the area and found avalanche debris, climbing gear and a partially buried body, according to the paper.
Parks Canada said the three men were attempting to climb the east face of Howse Peak on the Icefields Parkway on Wednesday. Officials said safety specialists immediately responded by air and observed signs of multiple avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment.
“I am deeply saddened to hear about this. Jess Roskelley was an inspiration to climbers young and old,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in statement on Twitter. “Together with his father John, they epitomized a great climbing tradition. Trudi and I send condolences to the families of all who were lost.”
According to a bio from North Face, Rosskelley summitted Mount Everest in 2003, becoming the youngest American to do so.
“After experiencing how hard it was for his father to balance climbing with having a family, Jess never expected that climbing would become a big part of his own life,” the bio states. “But as he steadily became obsessed with climbing, he finally understood his father’s addiction to mountaineering.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.