The Hatcher Pass Road near Palmer remains closed due to an avalanche Tuesday morning. State officials are assessing whether or not it is safe to clear the road. Reports indicate 14 feet of snow blocking the road just below the Arc Angel trailhead, with the potential of more avalanches to come.
Jill Reese is a spokespeson for the state Department of Transportation.
“The avalanche came down about milepost fifteen, which is just around the Archangel road, and closed the road totally. From what I understand it is about 100 feet wide and 14 feet deep. Traffic is being turned around at the Gold Mint parking lot at mile fourteen.”
Reese says until the crew determines safety conditions, the road will remain closed.
“There’s just been an awful lot of snow in the Hatcher Pass area already this year. And so many avalanches have been triggered with the different weather patterns that have been coming over and causing the layers to be unstable. It’s quite dangerous up there.”
Reese said state authorities had also received reports of one person missing in the area.
Alaska StateTrooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said responders have not been able to get to the backcountry due to safety concerns.
It is not clear if the case of the overdue skier, identified as 33-year-old Liam Walsh of Wasilla, is related to the recent avalanche.
Troopers were notified Monday evening that Walsh had told friends and family that he was going to be skiing in the area of Hatcher Pass, and had not returned Sunday night, as planned. Walsh was last heard from around noon Sunday. Walsh’s vehicle was located by Troopers in the parking lot of Hatcher Pass. Search efforts are being hampered by avalanche conditions.
Skiers evaluating snow conditions at Hatcher Pass are advised to check with the Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center.
APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
