Mountain climber found dead after falling from North America’s highest peak

A mountain climber has died in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve after park rangers found a body more than three miles above sea level, officials said.

The incident began to unfold Monday when rangers were contacted by a concerned family member who had not heard from a climber for several days, according to a National Park Service news release.

“The climber had been regularly checking in with his family via an InReach communication device during his attempted solo climb of Denali,” authorities said.

Because of the family member’s concerns, park authorities were immediately dispatched to the higher mountain range along the West Buttress route, and mountain rangers were able to quickly locate the climber’s empty tent at the summit of the 16,200-foot ridge, park officials said.

“Through interviews, the rangers also determined the last known sighting of the mountaineer. Another climbing team had observed them crossing the 17,200-foot plateau to Denali Pass at 18,200 feet on Wednesday, May 15,” according to the National Park Service. “Rangers at the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station were able to collect satellite location data from the climber’s InReach account and identify their likely location at 17,000 feet on Denali. The InReach data showed the device had not changed location since Thursday, May 16, indicating a fall from the Denali Pass crossing occurred that day.”

A National Park Service mountaineering patrol at the 17,200-foot camp was subsequently able to use a spotting scope to pinpoint the climber’s likely crash site Monday morning as the weather began to clear on the upper mountain, officials said.

“The team went to the site and confirmed that the climber had died. The ranger patrol then secured the climber in place and returned to high camp,” authorities said. “Recovery efforts will be attempted when weather conditions permit. The identity of the fallen climber will be revealed once the family has been notified.”

Since 1980, at least fourteen climbers have died in falls along the treacherous West Buttress section of the route, including this most recent fatality.

“There are currently 352 climbers on the West Buttress Route in Denali, most of whom are much deeper on the mountain this early in the climbing season,” according to park officials, who said the climbing season typically begins in early May and ends in early July.