One person is dead and another is seriously injured after falling about 1,000 feet while climbing a mountain in Alaska.
The unnamed climbers were scaling Mount Johnson, an 8,400-foot peak in Denali National Park, the National Park Service said in a news release. The climbers were climbing a part of the mountain known as “the Escalator”, which is on the southeast face of the mountain. The route requires navigating a mix of “steep rock, ice and snow” for about 5,000 feet, the NPS said.
Another climbing team on the road saw the couple fall, the NPS said. The second group alerted the Alaska Regional Communications Center of the incident around 10:45 p.m. Thursday evening. The second group then went down towards the accident victims.
The second group confirmed that one person had died in the fall. The second had suffered “serious traumatic injuries”. The second group dug a cave in the snow and tended to the climber’s injuries all night until the pilot of the Denali National Park high-altitude rescue helicopter and two mountaineering rangers were launched Friday morning.
Photo NPS / J. Kayes
A rescue operation ensues, with a ranger taken to the climbers. The ranger and injured climber were brought to a flat glacial staging area and loaded onto the helicopter. The injured climber was transferred to an air ambulance and taken for further treatment. The NPS did not specify the climber’s injuries, where he was treated or what his current condition was.
Authorities attempted to find the body of the dead climber on Friday, but were blocked by “deteriorating weather conditions.” Another attempt will be made “when weather conditions permit,” the NPS said.
The deceased climber will be identified when family members are notified, the NPS said.
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