PALMER — The state closed the road into Hatcher Pass last week as avalanche danger spiked amid an unusually warm, wet storm hitting Southcentral Alaska.
Nearly a week later, Hatcher Pass Road remains closed by avalanches just past Skeetawk Ski Area.
State transportation officials say it could be next week before they fully reopen the road that accesses recreation destinations throughout the pass in the Talkeetna Mountains between Palmer and Willow.
The wait will be worth it: Last weekend’s storm dumped more than 4 feet of snow at Hatcher Pass Lodge, located at nearly 4,000 feet at the top of the pass near Independence Mine State Historical Park.
The heavy wet snow, especially lower on the mountains, also triggered several major snow slides.
🏔️ 🏔️ #HatcherPass #AvalancheMitigation Update: 1/28/25 7:00 PM – The N. Palmer-Fishhook Rd./Hatcher Pass Rd. remains...
Posted by Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities on Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Two “known” avalanches came down off gullies on Marmot Mountain, covering more than 1,000 feet of the road with snow at least 20 feet deep in places, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
Another avalanche across the road from Skeetawk last weekend didn’t hit the road but dammed the Little Susitna River, triggering brief flood warnings downstream.
The transportation department closed the road last Thurday as a precaution due to the avalanche danger, according to spokesman Justin Shelby. A slide came down across the road the next day, prompting the state to extend the closed area to Mile 10.8.
The road closure blocks access to popular snowmachining access points including the Gold Mint and Fishhook parking lots as well as backcountry access and trails at Archangel Road and Independence Mine.
On Tuesday, a helicopter dropped explosive charges to trigger slide-prone areas and make it safe for crews to start clearing the road, Shelby said.
“The snowpack has stabilized to the point we feel comfortable having guys working up there,” he said Wednesday.
Crews hope to clear the road to the Gold Mint trailhead within a day or two, Shelby said, with the goal of reopening the rest of the road to the lodge and mine areas within a week.
The normally busy upper reaches of the road were silent this week.
Jeff Polk, Hatcher Pass lodge manager and caretaker, was the sole human in the area on Wednesday besides a helicopter pilot dropping avalanche charges in the sunshine above the clouds.
“It’s pretty great ... We wait for it and we love it and here it is,” Polk said by phone from the lodge, where he’s essentially been marooned since Thursday when the road closed. “The only signs of life I see up high is a few magpies.”
Polk said there was about 50 inches of new snow at the lodge.
“The drifting is just crazy. There’s 20-foot drifts up here,” he said, adding that the temperature stayed around 30 degrees during the storm. “Now it’s 6 below.”