Mikaela Shiffrin and Ski World Honor Bryce Astle & Ronnie Berlack on 11th Anniversary Of Avalanche Tragedy

Mikaela Shiffrin and a few other celebrities recently paid their respects to former skiers Bryce Astle and Ronnie Berlack.

The two skiers passed away in an unfortunate accident 11 years ago.

Mikaela Shiffrin, Charlie Raposo Pay Respects to Bryce Astle and Ronnie Berlack Through Instagram Post

Astle and Berlack were young American skiers who were practicing in Solden, Austria, when their camp was struck by an avalanche. Despite best efforts to save them, both skiers passed away in the avalanche.

The Instagram page of the US Ski Team recently published an obituary for the two skiers, who weren’t even 21 years old when they died in the tragic accident. The caption of the Instagram post read:

“Eleven years ago today, the ski community lost two promising young alpine racers in an avalanche in Sölden, Austria while they were freeskiing during a training camp. Bryce was from Sandy, Utah (@snowbird) and Ronnie from Franconia, New Hampshire (@burkemountainacademy).”

READ MORE: Mikaela Shiffrin Gets Emotional as Jessie Diggins Shares a Heartfelt Message After Third Tour de Ski Title

Shiffrin immediately showed her support by posting two red-heart emojis in the comment section. She was backed by former British skier Charlie Raposo, who posted a similar emoji.

Even the official Instagram page of FIS Alpine paid its respects through the same emojis. Photographer Noah Wetzel appreciated the initiative as he commented,

“This is a nice move ❤️”

Shiffrin previously raised attention for the safety of skiers after the World Cup event held at Semmering in Austria didn’t go as planned. From the surface breaking apart to only 40 out of 77 skiers completing the opening run of the race, the event wasn’t exactly a success, for which the American skier called out the organizers in a post-meet interview.

Shiffrin’s Solid Performance in Current Season

Shiffrin, the 30-year-old American alpine skier, has experienced a rollercoaster ride this season. Shiffrin recently saw her World Cup winning streak snapped at the FIS World Cup event held in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, where she lost to reigning world champion Camille Rast from Switzerland.

Before that, the Olympic champion had won six World Cup events in a row, including a victory during the 2024-25 season. Shiffrin also won the team event gold medal at the 2025 Alpine World Championships, although she couldn’t repeat the feat in the individual slalom events.

The alpine skier aims to make a strong comeback at the upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics after a forgettable experience at the previous edition held in Beijing.