Denali. Photo: Landon Arnold//Unsplash
A 41-year-old ski mountaineer has gone missing after slipping and falling down a 3,000-foot face on Denali, North America’s tallest peak. The incident occurred in an area called Squirrel Point on Monday, June 2, and search and rescue teams have been working to find him ever since. Severe weather, however, has complicated the search and rescue mission and forced a pause.
A Tuesday press release from the National Parks Service says the missing skier was un-roped when he fell over the “exposed rocky and serac-covered 3,000-foot face.” The Squirrel Hill section, the area which the accident occurred, is at an elevation of approximately 12,500 feet — a little more than halfway between sea level and Denali’s peak. The two skiers with him who witnessed the fall then lowered over the edge as far as possible but could not see or hear him. At that point they descended the West Buttress route to seek more help and an official search began. On Tuesday, NPS said the ground and air search was on pause due to high winds and snow.
The missing skier is reportedly from Washington state. There is no word as of yet when the search for the missing skier will be continued on Denali.
An executive order from President Trump has attempted to change the name Denali to Mount McKinley. National Parks Service (a federal entity) acknowledges the new legal name but still lists it by the more well-known “Denali” on its webpage. The name is rooted in the native Koyukon language and translates to “the high one” or “the great one.”
