A large piece of the glacier’s face collapsed onto the ice, sending skaters scrambling for safety Monday.
In late January 2024, dozens of people took advantage of smooth ice and basically no snow to skate on Portage Lake. Portage Glacier flows to the lake surface.
At 4:07 p.m. Monday, Alaska State Troopers received a report that two people were stranded at Portage Lake “after a piece of glacier calved onto the lake,” the agency said in an online dispatch. A video shot by a fellow skater shows a massive, building-sized part of the face of Portage Glacier suddenly collapsing onto the lake, sending a shuddering wave under the ice’s surface across the lake and opening water.
By that time, the stranded skaters had gotten to safety with the help of some nearby ice climbers, and were able to meet Girdwood first responders on the lake by foot, according to troopers spokesperson Tess Williams. No injuries were reported. It was the first time in recent years a helicopter has been used for a backcountry ice skating rescue, she said.for a 79-year-old man who authorities believe fell through the ice at Chilkoot Lake while skating alone last week.
More and more people are skating, and that’s great, he said. But he’s concerned about the calving incident and rescue, and the reported submersions.Portage Lake can be a sublime skating destination, but it’s large and dynamic, Mehl says. From a risk management perspective, it’s also important to remember it’s a known risk — Portage Glacier has beenMehl stops short of saying no one should travel close up to the glacier’s face.
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