Two Toronto men were killed in an avalanche while climbing in Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve on the weekend.

Andrew Herzenberg, 39, and Avner Magen, 42, were hit by the avalanche Saturday while descending a steep ice-and-snow gully in Ruth Gorge, park officials said Monday.

Other climbers who witnessed the avalanche skied closer to the site and saw from a distance what appeared to be two people and their gear in the debris. They called park rangers with a satellite phone.

Rangers confirmed the men's deaths late Saturday night and the bodies were recovered Sunday morning.

Park officials say Herzenberg and Magen were residents of Toronto, although Magen's nationality was identified as Israeli.

Herzenberg was a medical doctor at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and an assistant professor with the University of Toronto's pathology department.

He was also a member of the board of directors of the Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School, where his two daughters, Talia and Gabrielle, attended class.

"Andrew was the most amazing father, doctor, and friend to so, so many people," one woman wrote on a memorial website where friends were paying tribute and offering condolences to the family.

"He always had a kind word and a smile for everyone. He was a truly exceptional human being."

Magen was an avid climber and an associate professor of computer science at the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus, where he joined the faculty in 2004.

Denali National Park and Preserve may be best known among climbers for Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.

The Ruth Gorge, which features a glacier of the same name, is just southeast of Mount McKinley. It has lower elevations but offers more technically challenging climbing routes.

The avalanche occurred on the southeast side of the gorge, between Werewolf Tower and London Tower, according to park officials.

With files from The Associated Press