Avalanche — Susitna Valley, Alaska

2015-03-14 · Susitna Valley, Alaska

Wider weather episode

A snowmachiner died after succumbing to serious injuries resulting from an avalanche on March 14. A group of five snowmachiners began riding from a parking lot near MP 191 on the Parks Highway (near Cantwell). All riders were advanced snowmachiners and had at least some familiarity with this region. After making loops on the mountainside, then ascending to the top the slope, the victim's machine became stuck. He jumped off his machine and landed slightly downslope and waste deep into snow. One witness stated at the moment his foot hit the snow, the slope avalanched above and propagated as wide as 1500 feet. The victim and his machine were very quickly swept to bottom of the slope, and snow began piling on top of the victim and the machine. The weather preceding the avalanche included a heavy snow event approximately one week prior. This was followed by several days northerly outflow winds (from the Alaska Range). Avalanche experts believe this was a wind slab avalanche that stepped down into old snow near the ground.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 568443. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.