Climber Survives a Thousand-Foot Fall
He sustained minor injuries after dropping out of sight while climbing Denali's West Buttress
Not long after we reported that a climber went missing after falling from the popular West Buttress route, he was rescued by Denali National Park and Preserve rangers.
The 24-year-old Japanese climber had fallen on Friday night from just above fixed lines at around 16,100 feet. His partner witnessed the fall from the ridge but could not access or see where the fallen climber came to rest.
The National Park Service helicopter was dispatched on Saturday, but cloudy weather conditions prevented the helicopter from accessing the fallen climber’s location. A ground search was established based at Denali’s base camp at around 14,000 feet. The climber suffered minor injuries and was taken by helicopter to a hospital.
Last week, two climbers went missing while climbing the west ridge of Moose’s Tooth, read more about that accident here. Denali is a six-million acre park about 200 kilometres north of Anchorage.
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