Researcher from Italy missing after being swept into hole on Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier

The man’s travel companions lost sight of him after he fell into a stream and was swept into a vertical opening in the ice, Alaska State Troopers said.

AI Comment from GPT 5:

• On Mendenhall this year, officials warned of unstable ice. The U.S. Forest Service advised people to avoid the area due to a large crack and potential for significant calving on the frozen lake in February 2025 Forest Service warns Juneau residents to stay away from Mendenhall Glacier amid calving concerns. Separately, authorities recently reported Mendenhall River flooding tied to a record glacial outburst, noting temporary barriers helped limit damage compared to 2024 Damage to low-lying homes and bridge reported in wake of Juneau’s record glacial outburst.

• Other Alaska posts highlight rapidly changing ice and water hazards around glaciers: skaters were stranded after a calving event on Portage Lake Glacier calves into Portage Lake, stranding 2 skaters and underscoring risks of recreation on ice; kayakers at Spencer Glacier were hit by waves from a calving event during unusually warm weather that post linked to climate change ‘Way too close’: Kayakers encounter calving glacier in Southcentral Alaska; and recovery at Valdez Glacier was complicated while the glacier was shedding ice 3 kayakers found dead in water of Alaska glacier. On Denali’s Kahiltna Glacier, unseasonable warmth left marginal snow bridges and increased crevasse-related dangers for climbers At Denali base camp, unseasonable warmth creates dangers for climbers.

• For longer-term context at Mendenhall, prior reporting documented rapid retreat: more than 800 feet between August 2021 and August 2022, and nearly 4,600 feet since 1999 How far has the Mendenhall Glacier retreated in the last 12 months?.

Taken together, these posts describe a pattern of dynamic ice and water conditions around Alaska’s glaciers—including calving, thin/unstable ice, and swift meltwater routing into small openings—that can change quickly and complicate travel and rescue, consistent with the conditions described in this report.