Police and park rangers are attempting to recover the body of a man killed in an avalanche in Kluane National Park over the weekend.

The RCMP reported this morning that the deceased man, a 29-year-old citizen of the Czech Republic, was back-country skiing with three friends when the slide hit on Sunday.

"They were crossing a slope in a staggered formation when the avalanche was triggered,” police said is a press release today.

"The victim was second in line and was swept away with the third male. The remaining two men were able to locate their friends but were not able to revive the victim.”

The three men left the body where it was in the area of Observation Mountain near the Kaskawulsh Glacier and skied to the road, where they were picked up by a passing driver, Sgt. Don Rogers said.

They arrived in Haines Junction late Monday night, and reported the avalanche and their friend's death.

Rogers noted that all were experienced skiers and were equipped with avalanche beacons, probes and other safety gear.

A friend notified the victim's family of the death, Rogers said. It is now up to the staff at the Czech Republic's Canadian embassy to release the man's name. Police are not releasing the names of the surviving three men.

Parks Canada and the RCMP are teaming up to recover the body, Rogers said, but efforts to do so in a helicopter are currently on hold due to extremely windy conditions.

"We're not going to do anything until it is safe to do so,” he said.

It will be up to the coroner to determine the official cause of death, Rogers said, and the RCMP are investigating the incident.

An avalanche expert will be flown into the area to evaluate how the incident may have occurred, Rogers added.

This is the first avalanche death of the winter in the Yukon, while in B.C., more than a dozen skiers and snowmobilers have died in snowslides this season.