Tragic news out of Alaska where one climber was killed and another injured early Thursday in Denali National Park when a falling block of glacier ice struck them.Anchorage Daily News reports A 32-year-old man from Rigby, Idaho, died when a hanging serac fell from a ridge off the West Fork of Ruth Glacier. His climbing partner, a 31-year-old man from Logan, Utah, was knocked unconscious by the falling ice.
Despite “significant injuries”the surviving climber used a sat device to alert park officials and moved away from the debris to wait for rescue. The ice hit the men, who were roped together, at the start of their climb of the west face of Reality Ridge.
The park service’s high-altitude helicopter transported rangers to the accident site and the injured climber was taken to a safer spot on Ruth Glacier. Rangers administered emergency medical treatment before the flight back to Talkeetna Airport. The climber was transferred to an air ambulance.
Clouds unfortunately prevented an attempt by the helicopter pilot and rangers to return to the accident site later Thursday to assess whether the dead climber’s remains could be recovered. They plan to try again when conditions allow. This is the second mountaineer fatality in the park this season. A 28-year-old skier from Colorado died May 3rd when he fell into a glacier crevasse.
Out deepest condolances go out to the deceased climbers family and friends.