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Rescue: Barnard had spent several minutes trying to dig himself out before Pollitt arrived, followed by Johnston, who had not been caught. They dug out Barnard with a collapsible shovel from Pollitt's pack, and after 20 to 30 minutes, he was free. The only injuries were to Barnard's arm, which he surmised he strained trying to dig himself out of the avalanche. No equipment was lost except for one of Barnard's ski poles. The three put on their packs and resumed their trip, walking down the wide part of the valley. They concluded their trip without further incident and arrived at the Seward Highway at 18:00 hours that day.
Avalanche Data: Classified as SS-AO-2-0, the avalanche was released by the snowshoers. The starting zone slope is 34 degrees and north-facing. The 2-foot fracture spread 150 feet across the slope, and the avalanche ran 250 vertical feet. The debris averaged 2 feet in depth. The slab involved only the top layer of new snow, which collapsed on a weak substratum layer and ran on the ice layer below.
Comments: The three troopers took great care to learn about potential avalanche hazard along their route prior to the trip. They were aware that avalanche danger was high, and they were aware that the trip could be completed safely only with good route selection. They carried emergency equipment: shovel, rope, probes, and a first aid kit. Yet on the day of the accident, the most experienced and knowledgeable avalanche man, Pollitt, who sensed things were not right in the snowpack, wound up traveling third instead of first because of faulty snowshoes. The lead man, the least experienced with avalanche, cut his route close to the base of the mountain instead of staying out in the valley floor. Most importantly, although the men noticed the snow was collapsing under them, they ignored this message from the snowpack and continued to travel along the base of the mountain. Taking short cuts can be risky and in this case the risk was greater than the gain. A postscript to this accident: This previously unnaed avalanche was given the appropriate label "Trooper Scooper."
Further notes: This was an active avalanche period in the Chugach Mountains. The previous day, two climbers had been partly buried in a small avalanche 5 miles from where the troopers were caught. On March 14, a helicopter ski guide was buried (see Winner Creek Avalanche), and from the 21st to the 23rd, avalanches kept the Seward Highway closed. Out of 3.8 miles of highway, 2.2 miles were under avalanche debris from 4 to 45 feet deep. Up to 50 vehicles were backed up under adjacent avalanche paths after the first avalanche closed the road. Five minutes after the vehicles were turned around and evacuated from the area, a large avalanche roared across the road where the cars had been. Also during this period, a house was destroyed by an avalanche in the Eagle River Subdivision near Anchorage. Fortunately, the occupant had decided to go shopping in Anchorage and left just before the avalanche struck.
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