Alaska’s Hatcher Pass Road Buried In 12-15 Feet Of Snow | Unstable Snow Conditions Hamper Search Efforts
On November 24, 2015 the Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center reported “very dangerous avalanche conditions” in the area. They reported a natural avalanche coming off of Marmot Mountain that covered the Hatcher Pass Road at mile 15 in 12-15 feet of avalanche debris. The road is currently closed at the Gold Mint Trail Head. The Alaskan Department of Transportation is working on opening the road as conditions permit.
On Monday evening, Troopers were notified that Liam Walsh, from Wasilla, Alaska, was reported missing. He had been “going skiing in the area of Hatcher Pass.” He was last heard from on Sunday and his vehicle was found at the Mile 13.5 parking lot on Hatcher Pass. The search for Walsh is on-going. Weather and avalanche conditions are making the search challenging.
The public has been advised to avoid Hatcher Pass so that authorities can deal with the avalanche, the conditions, and the search. Be careful out there.
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The Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center described the avalanche problem as:
“A weak, persistent layer is buried 1-5 feet deep. This layer has been overloaded through an unrelenting series of recent snow storms and is sensitive and very reactive. Warming temperatures today produced heavy snow, adding more load to this sensitive avalanche problem. If these temperatures continue to rise and we see rain on snow and/or increased winds the avalanche hazard could rise to extreme.”
Hatcher Pass has had multiple reports of human triggered slides this season and a partial burial, both from early this month.
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