A 16-year-old snowmachiner died Saturday after he was buried in an avalanche in Turnagain Pass, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Word of the slide that killed Soldotna resident Tucker Challan reached troopers just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday, according to an online dispatch.
“A group of snowmachiners were riding on the backside of Seattle Ridge, which is northwest of the Seward Highway,” troopers wrote. “Witnesses stated that (Challan) triggered an avalanche and died after being buried.”
The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center said in a report on the slide that it occurred in an area called Warmup Bowl.
“The avalanche was triggered by the rider who was caught and subsequently buried 10 feet deep,” the avalanche experts wrote. “The avalanche crown was 2 to 3 feet deep and approximately 500 feet wide.”
Other riders in the area were able to locate Challan and dig him out after about an hour of work, according to the report, but he was dead when he was found.
Andrew Schauer, the center’s lead avalanche specialist, said Monday that Challan was alone at the time the slide took place.
“It was just the one individual that was caught,” Schauer said. “There were other groups in the area but no one else on that slope.”
Challan’s body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office, troopers said. His family has been notified.
Saturday’s slide took place a day after four human-triggered avalanches in the Seattle Creek drainage, none of which caught or injured people.
On Monday, the center reported considerable avalanche danger in Turnagain Pass at elevations above 1,000 feet, with moderate danger below that level.
A weak layer of snow, buried last month under additional snowfall, has led to heightened concerns of avalanches from Girdwood south to Seward, Schauer said.
“The scary thing right now is that the conditions that led to that avalanche on Saturday still exist,” he said. “And it's just as likely that someone could trigger a very similar avalanche today or tomorrow for the next few days and weeks.”
Spring is a busy time of year in the Turnagain Pass area, Schauer said, with enthusiasts traveling to Alaska to ski, snowboard and snowmachine. He urged people to avoid traveling not only on steep slopes but areas immediately below them as well.
“This type of avalanche problem has shown that it can be triggered from low-angle terrain below steeper slopes,” he said. “So there's a possibility that you could be traveling in relatively flat terrain, and trigger an avalanche above you that comes down and buries you.”
The deadly slide comes just weeks after a March 4 avalanche caught and killed three heli-skiers in the Twentymile River area, which Schauer said was just under 20 miles north of Saturday’s fatal slide. The bodies of the men, who were caught and buried in 40 to 100 feet of snow, have yet to be recovered due to dangerous snow conditions in the area.
Schauer said it’s still possible a late-season storm could pass through the area, as forecasters anticipate a seasonal rise in temperatures. Both events are accompanied by increased avalanche risk.
