TALKEETNA, Alaska — A man climbing the West Buttress route of Denali fell to his death Friday while attempting to retrieve a backpack, according to a Talkeetna Ranger Station public information officer.
Maureen McLaughlin says at about 4:30 p.m. Denali National Park and Preserve mountaineering rangers received a report the climber fell 1,100 feet down the north face of the buttress.
The man was reportedly part of a three person, un-roped climbing team, which had just reached the top of the 'headwall' or 'fixed lines' section of the West Buttress route. The team was at an elevation of 16,200 feet when the climber fell.
The National Park Service mountaineering patrol quickly responded to the scene, and called in a helicopter response. Helicopter ranger-paramedics later pronounced the climber dead from injuries sustained in the fall.
The man's body was recovered and flown back to Talkeetna. Officials say his identity is being withheld until family members overseas are notified.
