Status of 4 climbers unknown after fall at 18,000 feet on Alaska’s Mount McKinley

Rescuers in Alaska are attempting to reach four mountaineers who fell while ascending Mount McKinley, also known by its Indigenous name, Denali, North America’s highest peak, the National Park Service confirmed in a news release Thursday.

Rescuers were called to two separate incidents, one involving a helicopter evacuation of two climbers at about 11 p.m. on Thursday and a second an hour later involving four climbers from a seven-member team who fell near Denali Pass at 18,200 feet during their climb, the park service said.

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“Three members of the climbing team returned to High Camp at 17,000 feet after attending to their fallen climbing partners,” the statement said.

Mount McKinley stands at about 20,310 feet (6,190 meters). Its typical climbing season is from late April through mid-July.

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The National Park Service is actively responding to the incident. It said the condition of the fallen climbers remains unknown and that clearer conditions should soon allow for a helicopter operation to commence.

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Park officials have been in contact with the three climbers who returned to camp, Scott Carr, a park service spokesperson, told the Associated Press. He said additional information would be released “if and when it becomes appropriate.”

There were 516 climbers on the mountain as of Thursday, Carr told the outlet.

Many climbing injuries, deaths and accidents have occurred on the traverse between the high camp and Denali Pass, mainly resulting from unprotected falls, according to the park.

Park rangers and mountain guides install and maintain snow pickets — which are used to help build anchors for extra protection on areas like steep slopes — between the high camp and Denali Pass, the park says. Climbers are urged to have their own pickets in case the protection placed by rangers and guides is missing.

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Both fatalities were skiers. One was killed in an avalanche likely triggered by his activity and the other tumbled down a glacier after hitting a patch of ice.The first recorded attempt to climb Mount McKinley was made by James Wickersham, a judge, and four others in 1903; they failed to complete the climb and turned back at 10,000 feet, according to the park’s website.The first successful summit was achieved by Hudson Stuck, Walter Harper, Harry Karstens and Robert Tatum. Harper, a Native Alaskan, was the first to set foot on its peak.In 1947, Barbara Washburn became the first woman to summit Mount McKinley.Since records began in 1903, there have been 50,876 attempts to summit, 26,358 of which have been successful, according to official data.

— with files from The Associated Press