The search for a 41-year-old man from Washington State who went missing after falling during a ski mountaineering expedition on West Buttress route of Denali Mountain (federally designated as Mount McKinley) inside Denali National Park is currently limited due to foul weather conditions.
The incident occurred Monday June 2nd at a location known as Squirrel Point. The climber was not roped up at the time of the fall. His two partners attempted to locate him by lowering themselves over the edge but they were unable to detect any sign of him.
As of Tuesday afternoon, search efforts were hampered by high winds and snowfall which suspended both aerial and ground operations. Denali National Park officials advise that search activity will resume once weather conditions improve.
The incident comes during the peak of Denali’s climbing season, which typically runs from May through early July. Read the full press release from Denali National Park below.
Denali National Park Press Release:
Search operations are currently underway for a fallen ski mountaineer on Mt. McKinley’s West Buttress on Tuesday, June 3.
On Monday, June 2, two members of a three-person expedition reported an un-roped ski mountaineer fell at a location known as Squirrel Point. The 41-year-old male fell towards the Peters Glacier, an exposed rocky and serac covered 3000-foot face.
After witnessing the fall, the reporting party lowered over the edge as far as possible but was unable to see or hear the ski mountaineer. They then descended the West Buttress route for additional help and have now safely descended to Camp 1 where they are currently being taken care of by a ranger team.
Ongoing search operations include gathering of information. Ground and air search is currently on weather hold due to high winds and snow but will resume as soon as conditions allow.
