Climber dies in 1,000-foot fall from peak in Denali National Park, Alaska rangers say
A 1,000-foot fall from a peak at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska killed one climber and seriously injured another, rangers reported.
Robbi Mecus, 52, of Keene Valley, New York, died in the plunge from Mount Johnson on the night of Thursday, April 25, the National Park Service said in a news release.
Her climbing partner, a 30-year-old California woman, suffered serious injuries in the fall, rangers said.
The two roped climbers fell while ascending “the Escalator,” described as “a steep route of mixed rock, ice, and snow” on the 8,400-foot peak, rangers said.
Another climbing party saw the two women fall and notified authorities around 10:45 p.m., an earlier news release said.
The climbers descended and built a snow cave to care for the injured woman while awaiting rescue, rangers said.
On Friday, April 26, two mountaineering rangers and a high-altitude helicopter airlifted the injured woman to Talkeetna, where another helicopter took her to an Anchorage hospital, rangers said.
The rescuers could not return Friday because of bad weather but on Saturday, April 27, retrieved Mecus’ body from the mountain.
Mecus was a longtime forest ranger and climbing enthusiast in New York, NBC News reported.
In 2022, more than 427,000 people visited Denali National Park and Preserve, which covers more than 6 million acres in Alaska, including Mount Denali, North America’s highest peak, according to the park.
