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Clint Adams says he struck a charging brown bear with an ice axe during a mountain goat hunt on Alaska’s Baranof Island. The bear attacked the hunting guide, then retreated after the guide fired a rifle and another hunter fired a revolver; the group does not know whether any shots hit or whether the bear died.
Clint Adams says he struck a charging brown bear with an ice axe during a mountain goat hunt on Alaska’s Baranof Island after the animal ran past him toward the hunting party’s guide. The bear knocked the guide down and later retreated after the guide fired his rifle and another hunter fired a revolver, according to Adams’s account to Outdoor Life; the group does not know whether the bear was hit or survived.
The attack occurred on the morning of Oct. 15, the first day of the hunt, according to Outdoor Life’s report. Adams was hiking with his friend Matt Ericksen, his girlfriend Melody Orozco and their guide on a steep, brushy ridge. The party was roughly 400 yards from camp when the guide shouted for them to run. Adams’s rifle was strapped to his pack, leaving the ice axe he had been using to climb as the weapon immediately available.
Adams told the magazine that the bear passed within about a foot of him as it pursued the guide. He swung the axe with both hands and said its point sank into the bear’s skull behind the ear. The animal tackled the guide from behind, and they rolled downhill. Adams said he then saw the axe still lodged in the bear’s head as it reared over the guide.
According to Adams, the guide fired a shot upward, after which the bear hesitated. Ericksen fired three rounds from a .357 revolver, and the guide fired again as the bear charged once more; Ericksen then fired two additional rounds. Adams said the group could not tell whether any bullets struck the bear. Amid shouting, the bear moved away and disappeared. Adams later recovered the ice axe after it fell from the animal’s head.
A Close Encounter on Baranof Island
The account describes how quickly a bear encounter can become a direct attack, particularly when a party is moving through dense terrain and a firearm is not immediately in hand. In this case, Adams said his rifle was secured to his pack and he used the climbing tool he was already carrying. The guide and Ericksen had firearms available during the attack, but the party could not determine whether their shots hit the bear.
The story also leaves an important distinction between an account of the encounter and a confirmed outcome: the bear’s fate is unknown. Adams said the incident was reported by the guide, but he did not know whether the animal died. The available report does not establish that the bear was killed or recovered.
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The Hunt Before the Attack
The group reached the area by boat from Sitka, then crossed a lake in an inflatable raft fitted with an outboard motor. They began hiking the previous evening and climbed about a mile and a half before camping in rainy conditions, Outdoor Life reported. The next morning, they set out along a ridge toward a place where they could look for mountain goats.
Adams said the hunters were using ice axes to help pull themselves up the steep ground. He had hunted in Alaska before, but told the magazine he had not previously had a bear encounter. Orozco, his girlfriend, was on her first hunting trip. These details describe the circumstances of the party’s route and equipment; they do not establish why the bear charged.
“I just swung that ice axe as hard as I could, and I felt it sink in all the way to the handle.”
— Clint Adams, speaking to Outdoor Life
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The Bear’s Fate Is Unknown
Outdoor Life’s account relies on Adams’s recollection of the attack. The report does not say whether the bear was later found, whether it died from the axe wound or gunfire, or whether investigators determined that any of the shots hit it. Adams said the guide reported the incident, but he did not know its eventual outcome.
The report also does not provide an independent account from the guide or Ericksen, or official findings about the bear’s behavior and condition. It does not establish what prompted the charge. Those points should not be inferred from the hunters’ description of the encounter.
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No Further Outcome Reported
Based on the available account, the incident was reported by the guide, but no later update about the bear is provided. Adams said he did not know whether it survived. The report gives no indication of a recovery or an official determination about the animal, so the outcome remains unresolved in the published material.
Any further confirmation would need to come from the guide, the hunters or relevant authorities. Until then, the established account is limited to the party’s description of the attack, the shots fired and the bear’s retreat.
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Key Questions
Where did the bear attack happen?
The attack occurred on Alaska’s Baranof Island during a mountain goat hunt, according to Outdoor Life’s report.
What did Adams use against the bear?
Adams said he used an ice axe he had been carrying to climb the steep ridge. His rifle was strapped to his pack at the time.
Was the bear killed?
That is not known. Adams said the group could not tell whether any of the shots hit the bear and that he did not know whether it died.
Who else fired during the encounter?
According to Adams, the guide fired a rifle twice and Matt Ericksen fired a .357 revolver five times. The report does not confirm that any of the rounds struck the bear.
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