Teen Snowmobiler Killed by Avalanche in Alaska on Avalanche Awareness Day

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A 16-year-old boy was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling on Avalanche Awareness Day, marking the fourth avalanche death in Alaska this month.

Tucker Challans, of Soldotna, was riding with a group on the backside of Seattle Ridge in Turnagain Pass, about 60 miles southeast of Anchorage, when he triggered the slide, according to Alaska State Troopers. Witnesses reported that he was buried under roughly 10 feet of snow.

His body was recovered Sunday by the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group, NBC reported.

Earlier in March, Challans made his last post on Instagram—a compilation of snowmobiling footage captioned, "Here for a good time not a long time."

The avalanche, measuring about 500 feet wide, was caused by a weak snow layer buried beneath newer snowfall, said Wendy Wagner, director of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center. Coincidentally, the center's staff was conducting an avalanche awareness event nearby when the slide occurred.

"These types of avalanches can be triggered from the bottom, the top, or even the side of a slope," Wagner explained. "All you have to do is break that weak layer, and it shoots out like dominoes."

Avalanche conditions in the region remain hazardous, with experts urging riders to avoid steep slopes. The tragedy comes just weeks after three heli-skiers were killed in similar conditions near Girdwood on March 4.

"It's still unsafe," Wagner warned. "This is not something we want to mess with."