Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures heli-skiing guide Aaron Karitis of Bend, Ore., died Monday night at Anchorage’s Providence Medical Center following a Saturday avalanche west of Haines.

The state medical examiner’s office said it received a report of Karitis’ death from the hospital at about 11:30 p.m.

According to trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen, Karitis was not wearing a helmet, avalanche airbag or AvaLung (a device that allows users to draw oxygen from an increased surface area when buried underneath the snow).

“The only avalanche safety equipment found on (Karitis) was his locator beacon,” Ipsen said.

The death is the fourth heli-skiing fatality in the past three years. Alaska Heliskiing guide Rob Liberman and client Nick Dodov died in March 2012 after being buried by an avalanche. SEABA guide Christian Cabanilla died in March 2013 following a cornice collapse.

SEABA owner Scott Sundberg said Wednesday the company is continuing to operate “at this point.”

According to troopers, Karitis was buried for about 20 minutes underneath about seven feet of snow after tumbling 800 feet. He was pulled from the snow unconscious and unresponsive.

Trooper Andrew Neason said, to his knowledge, Karitis never regained consciousness or was able to breathe on his own after the accident.  

Karitis and four clients were dropped by a helicopter at around 4,000 feet in an area called the “Telemark Bowl” to ski a north-facing slope on a peak dubbed “Tele 2.5.” Karitis dug a test pit and determined the snow was safe, Ipsen said.

Karitis skied down-slope to examine snow conditions and offered guidance on how to ski the run to the four clients waiting above. “He was just checking to see how to attack this slope and how to ski this area,” Ipsen said.

No other guides were present on the trip, Ipsen said.

Troopers don’t know exactly what triggered the slide. The avalanche’s release point occurred between Kartitis and the four clients.

Another helicopter in the area carrying a SEABA guide and clients arrived shortly after the avalanche and radioed SEABA headquarters to launch another helicopter to join the search.

Rescuers pulled Karitis from debris and immediately started CPR, but he remained unresponsive. Karitis was taken to the Haines clinic, where he was stabilized. He was then medevaced to the Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, where he remained in critical care until his death.

Greg Wilkinson, public information officer for the Department of Health and Social Services, said Karitis’ body will be transferred to the state medical examiner’s office for examination.

According to a press release provided by SEABA, the run on which the avalanche was triggered was the second of the day.

Regarding the snow pit dug by Karitis, the SEABA press release said the pit was evaluated after the accident. “This very snow pit has since been evaluated, confirming (Karitis’) assessment that the snow did not show obvious signs of weakness or instability.”

The press release said Karitis’ core body temperature was “critically low” when he was pulled from the debris, and that he had inhaled a “great deal” of snow that stifled the oxygen flow to his brain.

Trooper Neason said his investigation into the accident is complete and waiting to be signed off on by superiors. Trooper involvement is limited to determining whether there is a criminal or negligent nexus to the accident, which there isn’t at this point, Neason said.

Neason interviewed “everybody associated with the event,” including the four clients Karitis was responsible for.

“They didn’t indicate to me that they thought anything was amiss,” Neason said.

“There was a very good response. The clients assisted in locating him. It seems like everybody was working together,” he added.

Haines Borough manager Julie Cozzi said the borough will be running the coordinates of the accident to ensure SEABA was not operating out of bounds.

According to the Haines Avalanche Information Center website, avalanche danger on the day of the accident was listed as “moderate,” with a potential to become “considerable” and in some cases “high” on south-facing slopes.

The “moderate” areas had “heightened avalanche conditions, especially on steep and wind-loaded terrain features.”

“The new snow is not fully bonded yet, and the potential for deep slides exists. It will be very important to minimize your risk exposure this weekend,” the website warned.

According to SEABA’s website, Karitis had been working in the U.S. heli-ski industry for a decade, but only started working with SEABA in 2013. He logged nearly 300 days heli-ski guiding in Alaska.

SEABA’s website also touts Karitis’ “international guide and avalanche certifications,” his “excellent safety record,” and his “frequent first descents.”

Karitis appeared on the October 2008 cover of Powder Magazine. He also started his own adventure guiding service, Pulseline Adventure.