One skier died and two others were rescued after all three were caught in an avalanche in the Wallowa mountains in Eastern Oregon.

The Wallowa Mountains near Joseph, Ore. (file photo)

The avalanche trapped the skiers on Saturday afternoon at about the 8,000-foot level as the skiers were returning to the Aneroid Lake area in the Eagle Cap wilderness.

According to the Wallowa Chieftain, Roger Roepke, 50, of Enterprise died in the slide. His 15-year-old son Erich Roepke and another skier, Don Woodhouse, 52, of Brush Prairie, Washington were rescued by fellow skiers.

Survivors estimated the avalanche at four hundred yards wide.

More: Wallowa Chieftain report