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                US Ski Team Members Killed in Austrian Avalanche

   by VOA News

   The U.S. Ski Team is in shock after an avalanche in the Austrian Alps
   took the lives of two members of the team's developmental program.

   Monday's incident took place near the Rettenbach glacier in the
   mountains at the western Austrian resort of Soelden, which is the venue
   for the annual season-opening World Cup races.

   Ronnie Berlack, 20, and Bryce Astle, 19, were caught by the avalanche
   while free-skiing in Soelden, in the Tyrol region,[1] U.S. Ski and
   Snowboard Association (USSA) said in a statement. Four other team
   members skiing with them survived.

   No coaches were with them at the time.   The Austrian broadcaster ORF
   said neither man was wearing avalanche emergency gear.

   An avalanche alert had been in effect for the area after days of heavy
   snowfall and mild temperatures.

   Berlack, from Franconia, New Hampshire, had been on the U.S.
   development team since 2013 and Astle, from Sandy, Utah, had been
   invited to train with it this season.

   "Ronnie and Bryce were both outstanding ski racers who were passionate
   about their sport - both on the race course and skiing the mountain,"
   USSA President Tiger Shaw said in a statement. "Both of them loved what
   they did and conveyed that to those around them."

   U.S. alpine ski director Patrick Riml says senior team members who
   decide to compete in World Cup races Tuesday in Zagreb, Croatia plan to
   wear mourning bands.

   Some information in this report provided by Reuters.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-ski-team-members-killed-in-austria
   n-avalanche/2587077.html

References

   1. http://alpine.usskiteam.com/news/ski-peace-ronnie-berlack-and-bryce-astle
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-ski-team-members-killed-in-austrian-avalanche/2587077.html