Climber Who Died Soloing Denali Identified
Below is a press released from Denali National Park about the incident
The National Park Service has released two press releases concerning the recent death of a soloist on Denali’s west buttress. We’ve included both below.
First press release: On Monday, May 20, Denali National Park and Preserve mountaineering rangers located a deceased climber at an elevation of 17,000 feet on the West Buttress route on Denali. On Sunday, rangers were contacted by a concerned family member that had not heard from a climber for several days. The climber had been regularly checking in with family via an InReach communication device during their attempted solo climb of Denali.
Mountaineering rangers patrolling the upper mountain quickly located the climber’s empty tent at the top of the 16,200-foot ridge. Through interviews, rangers also determined the last known sighting of the climber. Another climbing team had witnessed them traversing from the 17,200 feet plateau to Denali Pass at 18,200 feet on Wednesday, May 15.
Rangers at the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station were able to collect satellite location data from the climber’s InReach account and identified their probable location at 17,000 feet on Denali. The InReach data indicated the device had not changed location since Thursday, May 16, suggesting a fall from the Denali Pass traverse took place on that day.
On Monday morning as weather on the upper mountain cleared, an NPS mountaineering patrol at the 17,200-foot-high camp located the climber by searching the probable fall location using a spotting scope. The team proceeded to the site and confirmed that the climber was deceased. The ranger patrol then secured the climber in place and returned to high camp. Recovery efforts will be attempted when weather conditions allow. The identity of the fallen climber will be released once family has been notified.
Since 1980, at least fourteen climbers have died in falls along this treacherous section of the West Buttress route, including the soloist. There are currently 352 climbers on Denali’s West Buttress Route, the majority of whom are much lower on the mountain this early in the climbing season. The climbing season typically begins in early May and ends in early July.
Second press release: Denali National Park and Preserve mountaineering rangers recovered the body of a deceased solo climber at 17,000 feet on Denali’s West Buttress route the evening of Monday, May 20. T. Hagiwara, a man in his mid-40’s from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, is assumed to have fallen from the steep traverse between the mountain’s 17,200-foot High Camp and the 18,200-foot Denali Pass.
Concerned family members had contacted park rangers on May 19 indicating they had not heard from Hagiwara for several days. Upon investigation, rangers were able to identify the fallen climber’s location at 17,000 feet using data from his satellite communication device. The data indicated the fatal fall occurred Thursday, May 16.
An NPS mountaineering patrol at the 17,200-foot-high camp were able to reach the climber’s location at mid-day on Monday, confirm the fatality, and then secure the climber in place. Later that afternoon, weather conditions rapidly cleared, and the park’s high altitude helicopter launched Talkeetna for the recovery mission.
While enroute to the Alaska Range, NPS rangers were notified of an injured climber at approximately 18,600 feet on the West Buttress. A three-member rope team had fallen just below the feature known as Zebra Rocks, with one team member suffering a lower leg injury. Following an initial reconnaissance flight to the upper mountain, the injured patient was short-hauled in a rescue basket to the 7,200-foot basecamp. The NPS-contracted helicopter pilot then returned to the upper mountain and recovered Hagiwara’s remains using a long line short-haul technique.
Once back in Talkeetna on Monday night, the injured climber was transferred to a ground ambulance. Mr. Hagiwara’s remains were transferred to the State Medical Examiner.
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