The Alaska Dispatch has an amazing investigation into the May 2011 death of Beat Neiderer on Mount McKinley. Neiderer had stayed at Denali Pass to award rescue on his guide’s instructions and wound up freezing to death while another injured climber Lawrence Cutler descended solo to base camp and survived.
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The National Park Service says costs of supporting climbers on Mount McKinley/Mount Foraker is $1,300 per climber, versus about $37 per person for all other visitors. The NPS which now charges $200/climber is seeking to raise the cost to $500. The park currently spends more than $1.3 million/year for search and rescue.
Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – Charge climbers the cost Mountain safety programs drain Denali s budget
Vern Tejas has summited McKinley for the 50th time — including 4 times in 1988 alone. Vern who is 58 says he would like to have climbed it 65 times when he’s 65. Denali park officials say determining the record is not as easy as you might expected since several guides don’t keep the records.
Authorities say 41-year-old Juergen Kanzian was killed in late June on McKinely. His body was found at 15,300 feet in a steep couloir known as the “Orient Express” named for the large number of Asians who have fallen down it. Kanzian had already climbed Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Aconcagua.
A Eurocopter AS350 B3 was involved in one of the highest-altitude rescues on record in May when it rescued an injured climber off Alaska’s Mount McKinley just below the summit at 19,833 feet.
Brian Young, 52, died after summiting McKinley after suddenly stopping breathing while sleeping. He is the fifth climber to die this year. This is the worst year since 1992 when 11 died during the climbing season.
52-year-old Brian Young who died on McKinley following a 20-hour summit day on June 10, 2011 is the 8th fatality on McKinley this year. He died in his sleep.
Three helicopter rescues involved 37-year-old Zeljko Dulic of Serbia at 19,300 airlifted off the mountain in the “screamer suit” (line attached to helicopter), 22-year-old Sho Tamagawa of Japan (rescued same time as Dulc) and 20-year-old Masaaki Kobayasi of Japan who was unconscious at 18,700 feet.
All three suffered from altitude sickness.
34-year-old lead guide Suzanne Allen of Seattle and a client, 45-year-old Peter Bullard of Shanghai were killed in a fall on Mount McKinley at the 18,000 foot level on May 25, 2011. Two other climbers who were roped to the team were injured.
Italian climber Luciano Colombo of Mandello died in a 1,000 foot fall on the Denali Pass to 17,200 foot camp portion of Mount McKinley.