Quick report
A group of two hikers were caught, carried, and nearly fully buried on the Byron Glacier Trail on Saturday, May 31. The pair were practicing mountaineering skills and were roped up together, but down in the valley and not on any steep terrain. A natural avalanche started well above them, pushing them 200-300' across the valley. One person was buried chest deep, sustaining multiple broken bones, and the other was nearly fully buried with only one hand above the snow. A nearby group of hikers saw the avalanche and responded quickly, digging out both of the people that were buried.
More information in this article from Anchorage Daily News.
CNFAC Note: Thank you to the individual involved for sharing information with a Chugach National Forest employee. This is the second avalanche incident involving people on the Byron Glacier Trail this spring, and there is still a very good chance that will happen again this season. Please be aware that even though there is no snow at low elevations, this area is still exposed to a very serious avalanche hazard, and will be until the snow is gone from the upper elevations. These natural avalanches can be difficult to predict and easily have the potential to be deadly. We are urging people to avoid the Byron Glacier Trail until later in the summer, once the snow is gone from the upper elevation start zones.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Aspect
- NW
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 2500 ft
Two hikers caught, carried, and buried. One almost completely buried with one hand above the snow, another buried chest deep sustaining multiple broken bones.