Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Glissading teen disappears in snow hole below Asgaard Pass in Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Hikers near Aasgard Pass in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness; Dragontail Peak in background. (Rich Landers)
Hikers near Aasgard Pass in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness; Dragontail Peak in background. (Rich Landers)

CLIMBING --  The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office says a 19-year-old man is likely dead after vanishing into the snow beneath the summit of Asgaard Pass in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Leavenworth.  Here's what's been released at this point as reported by the Associated Press.

Sheriff Brian Burnett says the teen was glissading, or sliding, down the pass Sunday afternoon when he disappeared into a hole that runs deep beneath the snowpack. The accident was reported by satellite text message and included GPS coordinates, but rescuers in a Lifeflight medical helicopter and a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office helicopter could find no sign of the man.

The search was suspended due to darkness at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday but was to continue Monday.

Officials declined to release the teen’s name pending notification of his family.

The sheriff’s office says glissading, which often involves the use of an ice axe for control, is inherently risky due to unforeseen dangers such as holes or crevasses.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

Follow Rich online:




Go to the full Outdoors page