Alaskans are taking advantage of rare ice skating conditions on alpine lakes in Chugach State Park, with hundreds of people hiking into the backcountry to skate on smooth ice in the shadow of iconic peaks.

The Hatcher Pass Road in Alaska has opened for the summer season, but deep snow remains at higher elevations, with crews spending the last week digging out the road over the pass before opening it.

The second-worst flood on record in the Interior Alaska community of Manley Hot Springs began to recede on Sunday, but dozens of residents were displaced and cut off from power. Flooding is also reported in Sleetmute, Red Devil and Georgetown on the Kuskokwim River and Circle on the Yukon River.

Michael Hamilton, who worked at Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, died Monday in one of numerous avalanches that have been occurring in the Southcentral Alaska backcountry recently. Several recent large wet slab avalanches reported throughout the Chugach are believed to be connected to a buried crust that formed around late October, she said. A warm storm system last week also weakened the snowpack because it added weight and heat.

The Western Arctic Caribou Herd has been declining for years, and the migration patterns of the animals have been changing. In several locations in Northwest Alaska, caribou have been arriving later and later in the season. Friday last week, people in Kotzebue finally started seeing caribou — hundreds of them ― crossing the Kotzebue Sound north of town, coming from the Noatak riverside.

The slide occurred at a time when forecasters in the region are cautioning backcountry skiers and snowboarders about the potential for warming weather to increase avalanche risk.

Five people stayed overnight Friday on Ruth Glacier. On Saturday, guides led them to a shelter about 3.5 miles away, A historic storm dropped record amounts of snow throughout Interior Alaska during the last few days..

Muldrow Glacier on the north side of Denali is surging for the first time since the 1950s — moving 50 to 100 times faster than its usual pace. The surge was first glimpsed by K2 Aviation pilot Chris Palm last month. “I was thinking it looks really difficult to get onto the glacier right now,” Palm said. “It’s all shattered and torn up and jagged ice and deep crevasses everywhere.” The event could impact mountaineers scheduled to use the north approach to the mountain .

Fairbanks resident Erin Lee, 40, was transported to Mat-Su Regional Hospital via helicopter where she was pronounced dead, according to the statement.

Juneau’s urban avalanche forecast describes “extreme” danger Saturday evening. Centennial Hall will open as an emergency shelter at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Auto shops are seeing more business because of damaged tires, and drivers are often inching through a messy maze of bad road conditions. Road crews are making headway but still catching up from unfavorable weather last month.

A Wales resident shot and killed the bear. With the loss of sea ice and the ocean staying open later in the year, polar bears have been spending more time on land, which increases the chance of human encounters.

“It started breaking into pieces beneath us,” said Phillip Rode.

Hundreds of people have combed the terrain near Big Lake, but there’s still no sign of LaVerne and Van Pettigen.

The flooding started when large chunks of ice jammed at Deneki bridge, according to an advisory issued by the National Weather Service.

Even if a storm does hit Western Alaska, thicker sea ice will always be more resistant than last year’s ice was at this time, a climatologist says.

The pair were hoisted from 140 feet above, according to Guard officials. Flooding continues to be a concern in the area.

The snowfall came after Anchorage broke the daily record for warmest Dec. 31, with temperatures at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport measuring 46 degrees.

That hurts coastal communities that hunt on the ice. But colder weather may be coming, at least to some portions of Alaska. Ice should be hugging the coast near the village of Gambell, perched on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, said Mayor Susan Apassingok, on Tuesday. But ice isn't there.

What little snow has fallen in recent weeks has disappeared, leaving inviting surfaces and smooth terrain to explore.