A 16-year-old snowmachiner was fatally buried in an avalanche in Turnagain Pass when a juvenile triggered the slide, prompting emergency rescue efforts.
This is Alaska’s first fatal avalanche reported this season. It is also the country’s deadliest since February 2023.
A professional snowboarder criticized the prolonged five‐hour rescue effort after an avalanche swept a backcountry skier down a mountain, cautioning that every minute matters in life‐or‐death situations.
Multiple avalanches have closed Hatcher Pass Road in Alaska due to heavy wet snowfall, with officials forecasting several days of clearance work.
An avalanche has closed mile 219 of the Parks Highway near Denali National Park, impacting 400 feet of the road and halting traffic, with high avalanche danger expected to persist due to strong winds and rising snow levels.
Chugach forecasters issue warnings of high avalanche danger following a fatal incident and two non-fatal close calls in the mountains.
The reason for the uptick in human-triggered avalanches this winter: persistent weak layers in the snowpack.
A snowmachiner was killed Monday afternoon in an avalanche on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska State Troopers reported late Monday night.
More than two weeks after the area typically opens for snowmachiners, the pass remained closed Tuesday as lower elevations continued to see below-average snow levels.
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