Whittier woman recounts close call with huge rock slide over 30-feet deep and 300-feet long

Photo courtesy of Alaska State Troopers A massive rock slide occurred Saturday, April 11 around 9:30 p.m. on Portage Valley Highway between the small tunnel and Whittier Tunnel just before the roadside pull-off by Portage Lake. The slide crossed the road to the shoreline of the lake. It was around 50 feet high and 300 feet long. The slide has closed down vehicle traffic until the road is cleared, which a highway official said may take six days. The Alaska Railroad is providing free scheduled passenger service for Whittier residents. Rail service includes two round-trips between Anchorage and Whittier with stops in Portage and Girdwood each day until the road is opened.

Photo courtesy of Alaska State Troopers A massive rock slide closed the road to Whittier. DOT hired an outside contractor, Alaska Trailblazers, that brought in heavy equipment to haul rocks away. Rick Feller, DOT Spokesman, said the road may be cleared for traffic by Monday, April 20, but that may be revised depending on progress.

By Karla Brown
Special to the Turnagain Times

Saturday, April 11, when I got off work at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, I raced back to my home in Whittier but missed the 5:30 p.m. tunnel opening by one minute. So, grumbling, I went to Marilyn William’s house (owner of Portage Glacier Lodge) to wait around for an hour before the tunnel opened again.
Well, being the gracious hostess that she is, Marilyn fixed us supper and popped in a movie for the two of us to watch. Three hours later, I was heading back home.
During the short drive from Marilyn’s to the tunnel, and in between the little tunnel and the Whittier tunnel, I noticed little rocks bouncing across the road in front of me. I looked to my left, and sure enough there was a little rockslide going on. I peered into my rearview mirror, and saw bigger rocks bouncing across the road.
I continued on, went through the tunnel to Whittier, and went home. A little while later, the people at the tunnel called Marilyn up and asked her if she was OK. She said, “yes, why?” And they informed her that there had been a massive rock slide just before the pull-off by Portage Lake, and that the whole mountain came crashing down across the road and into the lake on the other side.
Marilyn immediately thought of me, and knew I had just driven through there. When my phone rang, and it was Marilyn, her nervous voice asked, “Where are you?”
I told her that I was home. I could hear an audible sigh of relief. She then told me what happened. We figured I missed the landslide by about five seconds.
That whole day started off kind of crazy when the tunnel was closed around 9 a.m. because of something that had broken down. I went back home and waited for two hours until the tunnel was fixed.
Then at 11:00 a.m. when I went to drive through the tunnel, tunnel operators informed me that there had been a small avalanche about three miles past the tunnel and that it had gone across the road. So even though I could now get through the tunnel, I still couldn’t go anywhere!
So I went home again and waited. Finally at noon, the tunnel was opened and the road was cleared, and I was able to get to work.
The Dept. of Transportation road crew didn’t begin working on the rock slide until Sunday in the early morning, and it was suppose to take several days to clear the road.
So, instead of traveling to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation where I was supposed to be the Easter Bunny, I was forced to stay home.
Actually I ended up spending the holiday with Whittier Mayor and First Lady, Lester and Cheryl Lunceford. We had steak and baked potatoes, and then raised our glasses for a toast, grateful to be able to celebrate life with friends and the rebirth and endless possibilities of spring.

Avalanche Story