CALGARY—The bodies of three mountaineers who died after attempting to scale the east face of Howse Peak in Banff National Park were recovered on Easter Sunday.

American climber Jess Roskelley, along with renowned Austrian climbers David Lama and Hansjörg Auer, began their ascent on Tuesday but didn’t return from their climb on time. After an extensive search, rescue crews found debris with climbing equipment and noticed signs of multiple avalanches in the area.

Parks Canada presumed all three climbers were dead on Thursday, but said they weren’t able to recover their bodies due to dangerous conditions at the site. Three days later, rescue crews were able to access the site and recover their remains.

“Parks Canada extends our sincere condolences to their families, friends and loved ones,” read a statement on Sunday. “We would also like to acknowledge the impact that this has on the tight-knit, local and international climbing communities.”

Parks Canada credited the Lake Louise Fire Department and RCMP detachment, Alpine Helicopters, Bow Valley Victim Services and their incident command team with their work.

All three climbers were incredibly accomplished mountaineers. Roskelley’s ascents include Mount Everest in 2003 alongside his father, renowned climber John Roskelley, India’s Stok Kangri in 1997, Argentina’s Mount Aconcagua in 2004, and Mount Snowdome in the Rockies in 2009. At one point, Roskelley held the record as the youngest American to scale Mount Everest.

Lama is well-known for the first free ascent of Cerro Torre in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America, a feat captured in the documentary Cerro Torre: A snowball’s chance in Hell. He also made headlines in the mountaineering world in November 2018 for the first solo ascent of Nepal’s Lunag Ri.

Austrian mountain climber Peter Habeler said in an email that Lama was “like a son” to him. Lama’s website says Habeler met him when he was five years old and recognized his climbing talent immediately.

Auer started his professional climbing career in 2009 after quitting his job as a secondary school teacher, according to his personal websites. The highlights of his career include a solo ascent of Lupghar Sar West and the first ascent of Kunyang Chhish East, two mountains in Asia.

Details on how all three climbers died aren’t clear. Parks Canada wasn’t able to comment during a Thursday conference call with reporters on the exact weather conditions on Howse Peak’s east face at the time of the ascent. Parks Canada visitor safety specialist Stephen Holeczi described the avalanche as a Size 3 — capable of burying a car or destroying a small wood-framed house.

With files from Rosa Saba

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