U.S. skiers Ronnie Berlack, Bruce Astle killed in avalanche

Two members of the U.S. ski team were killed in an avalanche Austrian Alps while skiing near their training base.

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Sad news in the skiing world today as Ronnie Berlack, 20, and Bryce Astle, 19, were killed in an avalanche in the Austrian Alps near the Rettenbach glacier, the venue for the 2015 Alpine Skiing World Cup.

Berlack and Astle were members of the U.S. junior squad.

Avalanche warnings had been issued after days of heavy snowfall and mild temperatures and it is believed they caused the avalanche on the 10,000 foot Gaislachkogel mountain near Solden and were buried underneath the snow.

“Ronnie and Bryce were both outstanding ski racers who were passionate about their sport — both on the race course and skiing the mountain,” U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association president and CEO Tiger Shaw said, via ESPN. “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.”

The tragedy has left the U.S. team in shock and devastated at the sudden and trafic loss of two bright young men with aspirations of competing in the World Cup and eventually the Olympics.

“We are all very close,” said Alpine director Patrick Riml, an Austrian who was born and grew up in Soelden. “We train a lot in Park City. We’ll see how they handle the whole thing and how they react.”

Riml added, “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.”

There is a race on Tuesday night where the developmental team is still deciding whether to compete in the wake of the tragedy, but if they do they will wear mourning bands.

Berlack and Astle were two of six skiers who hit the Alps but the other four were lucky to make it out unscathed and alive.

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