Denali National Park and Preserve, summary. Raindrops were ...
D e n a l i N a t io n a l Pa r k D enali N ational Park and Preserve, summary. R aindrops were falling at K ahiltna Basecamp the first week o f May, as unusually and unpleasantly w arm tem p eratu res su rp rised early season climbers. Longtime m ountaineers can’t recall a season so balmy, w ith tem peratures throu g h o u t Alaska breaking state records. As su m m er tem p eratu res soared, m ost o f the glaciers inside Denali National Park experienced considerable m elt-out. Previous landing areas on many glaciers were riddled w ith crevasses ru n n in g every direction, preventing landings after mid-July. D enali’s unpredictable potency once again becam e evident, w hen a massive rockslide at W indy C orner hurled dow n car-sized boulders. This unusual, colossal event killed clim ber Clint West, age 47, and severely injured two others on the rope, as they descended from the 14,200' cam p. T his is one o f the few accidents in the history o f Denali m o u n tain eerin g w here h um an error was not the key factor. The grave o f deceased m o u n tain eer G ary Cole eroded and was partially exposed at the 17,200' high camp. Cole died in 1969 from HAPE and was buried in a shallow grave by a m ed ical research team th a t was on the m o u n tain at the tim e. The Alaska State M edical Examiner, the Alaska State Troopers, and the NPS Regional D irector agreed to allow his reburial after his identification, w ith helpful in form ation from the family. Gary Cole was lowered to the 14,200' cam p and reburied by a N ational Park Service m ountaineering patrol in a deep and undisclosed location. We can only speculate th a t these two unu su al events, th e massive rockslide and the discovery o f hum an rem ains, were precipitated by the record-breaking tem peratures. In addition to our w onderful m ountaineering volunteers, we were particularly fortunate to have a patrol o f seasoned G rand Teton N ational Park clim bing rangers, who perform ed several difficult life-saving rescues. Renny Jackson, form er Denali m o u n tain eerin g ranger, co-led the first patrol o f the season, w ith D enali m o u n tain eerin g ranger John Loomis. The experienced
Teton patrol m em bers saved the life o f an incapacitated Korean clim ber just above Denali Pass. They perform ed this rescue in “full w eather conditions” w ith a strong pair o f British climbers, A ndy Perkins and Neil M cNab, w ho were chosen for the 2004 D enali Pro Award for th eir c o n tribution to this significant rescue. O nly a handful o f new routes were com pleted in 2004, w ith little action on n o n -tra d e routes. O n Denali only three p o pu lar routes were successfully clim bed: the West Buttress, the West Rib and the Cassin Ridge (only tw o clim bers). T here were 1,275 clim bers a ttem p tin g Denali (1,173 on the West Buttress), w ith 51% reaching the sum m it. O nly four people reached the su m m it o f Foraker, all p art o f a NPS ranger patrol, an d local know ledge does n o t recall anyone reaching the sum m it o f Mt. H unter! T he average trip length for an expedition on M t. McKinley was 17.3 days, w ith the average age o f a Denali clim ber being 37 years old. C ontinuing a gradual upw ard trend, women c onstituted 11% o f the total clim bers. G uided expeditions as a w hole (in clu d in g clients and guides) accounted for 33% o f D enali m o u n tain eers. No su rp rise th a t June was the busiest su m m it m o n th , w ith 510 su m m its recorded. In May, 90 clim bers sum m ited ; 56 in July. T he liveliest days on the su m m it o f D enali were June 4 (71 clim bers), June 27 (48 clim bers), and June 26 (42 clim bers). C lim bers cam e from 42 nations. The top countries represented were U nited States (798), C anada (63), U nited K ingdom (52), Japan (48), G erm any (39), and Spain (36). C lim bers can now access o u r newly u p d ated m o u n ta in ee rin g booklet in p d f form at at w w w .nps.gov/dena. The English revision is com plete, an d we aim to get the in fo rm atio n
translated into m ultiple languages w ithin the next couple o f years. C urrently, in tern atio n al clim bers can access the older version o f the booklet in seven languages on o u r website. D
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Teton patrol m em bers saved the life o f an incapacitated Korean clim ber just above Denali Pass. They perform ed this rescue in “full w eather conditions” w ith a strong pair o f British climbers, A ndy Perkins and Neil M cNab, w ho were chosen for the 2004 D enali Pro Award for th eir c o n tribution to this significant rescue. O nly a handful o f new routes were com pleted in 2004, w ith little action on n o n -tra d e routes. O n Denali only three p o pu lar routes were successfully clim bed: the West Buttress, the West Rib and the Cassin Ridge (only tw o clim bers). T here were 1,275 clim bers a ttem p tin g Denali (1,173 on the West Buttress), w ith 51% reaching the sum m it. O nly four people reached the su m m it o f Foraker, all p art o f a NPS ranger patrol, an d local know ledge does n o t recall anyone reaching the sum m it o f Mt. H unter! T he average trip length for an expedition on M t. McKinley was 17.3 days, w ith the average age o f a Denali clim ber being 37 years old. C ontinuing a gradual upw ard trend, women c onstituted 11% o f the total clim bers. G uided expeditions as a w hole (in clu d in g clients and guides) accounted for 33% o f D enali m o u n tain eers. No su rp rise th a t June was the busiest su m m it m o n th , w ith 510 su m m its recorded. In May, 90 clim bers sum m ited ; 56 in July. T he liveliest days on the su m m it o f D enali were June 4 (71 clim bers), June 27 (48 clim bers), and June 26 (42 clim bers). C lim bers cam e from 42 nations. The top countries represented were U nited States (798), C anada (63), U nited K ingdom (52), Japan (48), G erm any (39), and Spain (36). C lim bers can now access o u r newly u p d ated m o u n ta in ee rin g booklet in p d f form at at w w w .nps.gov/dena. The English revision is com plete, an d we aim to get the in fo rm atio n
translated into m ultiple languages w ithin the next couple o f years. C urrently, in tern atio n al clim bers can access the older version o f the booklet in seven languages on o u r website. D
en ali
N
a t io n a l
P a r k / T a l k e e t n a R a n g e r S t a t io n
