Avalanche buries seven U.S. skiers, one dead

NORSE PEAK, Washington (Reuters) -- An avalanche killed a cross-country skier and buried six others Sunday near a popular Washington state mountain, officials said.

The seven skiers from a Seattle mountaineering group were near the top of 6,856-foot Norse Peak in southwest Washington, near Crystal Mountain, which houses a large downhill skiing operation.

Another skier was injured, possibly breaking a leg, but the other five managed to dig out from the snow and hike down to get help from rescue crews at Crystal Mountain, said Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff.

The U.S. Northwest was hit with several winter storms last week, which dumped as much as 40 inches of snow on some local mountains already packed from earlier storms, raising the risk of avalanche, forecasters said.

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