On the morning of Apr. 18th, Soldotna Public Safety Communications Center received a report of six adult skiers stranded in a snow cave on the Harding Icefield within Kenai Fjords National Park. When encountering inclement weather conditions, the group undertook a multi-day traverse of the Harding Ice Field from Exit Glacier to Bradley Lake and constructed a snow cave for shelter.
National Park Service law enforcement rangers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers coordinated several rescue attempts throughout the day and into the evening, utilizing both State Troopers and Alaska Air National Guard aviation assets. Poor visibility and high winds prevented all attempts to reach the stranded party.
The following day, on the morning of Apr. 19, an Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter with pararescuemen (PJs) on board made another attempt to reach the group but were again hampered by high winds. By late morning, weather conditions had improved to the point where the Pave Hawk could land and offload the PJs in the vicinity of the group’s location. After linking up with the six skiers, the PJs safely led them back to the helicopter, which airlifted them to an area hospital for evaluation. An Alaska Air National Guard HC-130 provided aerial support during the mission.
The National Park Service would like to thank the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, and Alaska Air National Guard for their continued partnership and assistance with this incident.