Ski mountaineer's companions say he lost footing, slid, fell off steep section of route at 12,000-foot level
Bad weather has halted a search for a 41-year-old mountaineer who’s missing after falling Monday off the West Buttress of Denali.
National Park Service spokesperson Amber Smigiel said a ground search was called-off Tuesday after heavy winds and snow set in. She says they’re monitoring conditions every hour in hopes the weather will break so they can restart the search.
“It’s windy and snowing in the area, so we have not been able to send out either ground or aerial crews,” she said. “So everyone’s on standby, waiting for the weather to clear.”
Smigiel said three ski mountaineers set out on an expedition Monday to ascend the peak. She said when they reached the 12,000-foot level later in the afternoon, two of the mountaineers saw the third member fall at a spot along the trail called Squirrel Point.
They said he fell off of the steep section of the route and slid down and out of sight towards the rocky, 3,000-foot face of the Peters Glacier.
“But we don’t know how far he fell,” Smigiel said. “There was no visual confirmation from the other members of his team as to where he landed.”
According to a Park Service news release, the two remaining expedition members lowered themselves over the edge of the West Buttress as far as possible, but were unable to see or hear the missing mountaineer. So they alerted the Park Service search and rescue personnel and descended the route to seek additional help. Later Tuesday afternoon they were at Camp 1, where they were being treated and evaluated by a ranger team.
Smiegel declined to identify the missing mountaineer, but said he’s a 41-year-old resident of Washington state. She said all three of the expedition members were un-roped. She said the Park Service highly recommends that precaution when out on the mountain.
Smigiel said the Park Service hopes to resume ground and air search Wednesday.
Editor’s note: KTNA’s Andrew Gelderman contributed to this story.
