Eaglecrest Ski Area, AK, confirmed a large inbounds avalanche in a closed area of the resort. Crews using beacons, probes, dogs, and RECCO equipment searched the scene but found nobody trapped. The resort had received 25″ of fresh snow in the previous five days. The slide, in the East Bowl Chutes, was seven feet deep and ran for 100 yards.
A Seward Highway avalanche closed the road for much of the day Friday. It was between Bird Creek and the Portage turnoff. The avalanche severed the only road access between Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula for more than eight hours.
A week from graduating high school, Alaska avalanche survivor Peter Schutt was physically on top of the world as he climbed Donoho Peak near the Alaska/Canada border.
Unfortunately, Schutt’s adventure took a dangerous turn when an avalanche struck. Snow that was once a fixture on the frigid face of the mountain suddenly cut loose and turned into a freight train of cold, sugary crystals stampeding in rapid, unstoppable motion.
The avalanche pitched him over a 75-foot cliff on his tumble down 2,500 feet of the jagged mountain face. He remembers covering his head as best he could to prevent further injury.
After the avalanche Schutt’s friend and partner made his way down, contacted National Park Service via cell phone and provided cell phone GPS coordinates to aid the rescue response.
An Aleutian avalanche woke three climbers on Easter morning. They found they were tumbling down the Neacola Mountains in Southwest Alaska. Their tents were propelled down Mount Neacola in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve by an air blast from an avalanche above them.
The climbers received a grant from the American Alpine Club to fund the north face attempt. The three have more than a decade of experience. Two work as avalanche instructors. They work together as climbing guides in New Hampshire. The team had traveled to Alaska planning to spend about 3 1/2 weeks on the mountain. They returned home to New Hampshire on Thursday but are keeping an eye on Alaska weather in hopes that conditions in the Neacola Mountains will improve enough in the next few weeks that they can return.
A heli-ski avalanche near Matanuska Glacier killed a Fairbanks woman who was heli-skiing on Saturday. It was witnessed by four others in the group.
Erin Lee, 40, was rescued and taken to Mat-Su Regional Hospital and pronounced dead.Erin Lee, 40, was rescued and taken to Mat-Su Regional Hospital and pronounced dead.
She was part of a group heli-skiing about 7½ miles from the Glenn Highway east of the Matanuska Glacier, said Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Alaska state troopers. It wasn’t immediately clear which mountain the avalanche occurred on. Troopers have not visited the exact site. McDaniel also noted that another group was heli-skiing in the same area Saturday.
A large, remotely triggered Hatcher Pass avalanche covered the road around 12 p.m. on Friday. Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center posted photos of the avalanche. They said that the road would likely be closed at the Gold Mint parking lot. The avalanche did not involve any people.
Juneau’s urban avalanche forecast is for “extreme” Juneau avalanche danger as of Saturday evening. There is a potential for “historic avalanches” in residential areas. City officials recommend that residents in the avalanche zone in downtown Juneau evacuate their homes.
