On Monday afternoon, Alaska State Troopers were notified of an overdue skiier in the Hatcher Pass area. The caller reported that 33-year-old Liam Walsh off Wasilla had last been heard from around noon on Sunday and had failed to return as scheduled that evening.

It was reported by troopers that Walsh’s vehicle had been located parked at a parking lot at mile 13.5 of Hatcher Pass.

The search for Walsh by State Park Rangers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers has been hampered by adverse weather and avalanche conditions in the area.

In Tuesday, the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced that they had closed the Hatcher Pass Road after an avalanche occurred at mile 15. In their press release, they stated, “Recent snow events at Hatcher Pass have created very unstable snow conditions over the past several days and resulted in numerous avalanches throughout the Talkeetna Mountains in the Hatcher Pass area.”

That slide at mile 15 deposited debris up to 14-15 feet deep on the roadway.

Walsh’s next of kin were notified of the incident.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

  avalanches, hatcher pass, liam walsh, missing, skiier