Global Courant 2023-05-22 16:08:56
National Park Service rangers rescued a climber who fell from a 16,000-foot ridge in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve, officials said Saturday.
A mountaineer evacuated the 24-year-old Japanese climber from a point at 15,100 feet, park officials said.
The climber suffered minor injuries and was transferred by helicopter to a hospital, officials said.
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK RENAMES CAMPGROUND IN HONOR OF THE HAVASUPAI TRIBE
Snow falls on foliage in Denali National Park, Alaska, on Sept. 21, 2022. A 24-year-old Japanese climber was rescued by National Park Service rangers after falling from a three-mile ridge in Denali National Park. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
The climber was climbing with a partner Friday on the West Buttress Climbing Trail on Denali, just above the fixed line at 16,200 feet.
The climber’s partner told rangers early Saturday morning that the fall occurred around 11 p.m. Friday while they were on a route known as the West Buttress to Peters Glacier, the agency said. The partner saw the fall but could not see where the climber came to rest.
Rangers began air and ground searches for the climber, but overcast weather conditions prevented a helicopter from accessing the climber’s location, officials said. The ground survey was based at Denali Base Camp, at 14,000 feet.
The incident comes just over a week after two climbers missing from the park were presumed dead.
Denali is a 6 million acre park located about 125 miles north of Anchorage.
