Alaska News

Woman rescued after falling into Spencer Glacier crevasse

A Pennsylvania woman was rescued Monday after falling into a glacier crevasse.

According to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch, at approximately 1:29 p.m. Monday troopers were alerted that a woman had fallen 20 feet into a crevasse on Spencer Glacier while ice climbing near Portage.

[Inside the dramatic, 14-hour rescue that freed a climber from a deep crevasse on Denali]

The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was contacted and the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons responded to the scene, where the injured climber was hoisted into a helicopter.

The woman, identified as 34-year-old Julia O'Neil of Pennsylvania, was transported to Providence Alaska Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

As of Tuesday afternoon, O'Neil was no longer listed as a patient, according to a Providence spokesman. Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters had no further details on the cause of the fall or the extent of O'Neil's injuries Tuesday.

Suzanna Caldwell

Suzanna Caldwell is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in 2017.

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