Snowshoer killed near Flattop

ADN is reporting today that a snowshoer was killed in Boy Scout Gully on Flattop Mountain here in Anchorage.

Flattop is one of the most frequently climbed peaks in Alaska and affords easy access to great views and good excercise. Unfortunately, it is also in the foothills of the Chugach, which are notorious for dangerous avalanche conditions in low snow years such as this one. Flattop has seen its share of avalanche accidents — I remember in highschool my friends set a slide off in the same area while snowboarding. They were thankfully unharmed but it was a good reminder that up here, wilderness (and the dangers associated with it), is always right next to you.