2 climbers suffering from hypothermia await rescue off Denali, North America's tallest mountain
Two climbers awaited rescue near the peak of North America’s tallest mountain Wednesday, a day after they and a third climber in their team requested help after summiting Denali during the busiest time of the mountaineering season, officials aid.
JUNEAU, Alaska — Two climbers awaited rescue near the peak of North America’s tallest mountain Wednesday, a day after they and a third climber in their team requested help after summiting Denali during the busiest time of the mountaineering season, officials at Denali National Park and Preserve said.
Their condition was not immediately known. The third climber was rescued late Tuesday. All three had listed experience on high-elevation international peaks on their climbing histories, and two had prior history on Denali, park spokesperson Paul Ollig said in an email to The Associated Press.
Park rangers received an SOS message from the three at 1 a.m. Tuesday, indicating the climbers were hypothermic and unable to descend after reaching the 20,310-foot summit.
They remained in communication until around 3:30 a.m., when they texted plans to descend to a flat area known as the “Football Field” at around 19,600 feet, the park service said in a statement.
Rangers did not hear back from the climbers after that, and the location of their satellite communication device didn’t change. Cloud cover prevented the park’s high-altitude helicopter from flying about 50 miles from the community of Talkeetna to Denali Tuesday morning, so the park requested help from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. The Alaska Air National Guard flew an HC-130J airplane from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage to look for the climbers.
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