A solo climber attempting to scale Alaska’s Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America, was found dead Monday, federal officials said.
The body of Japanese hiker T. Hagiwara was discovered by National Park Service rangers at 17,000 feet on the West Buttress Route giant mountain after an apparent fall while climbing.
Concerned family members alerted authorities after not hearing from their loved ones who had checked in with InReach satellite communications. the National Park Service said.
Denali National Park and Preserve rangers overseeing the upper reaches of the mountain soon found Hagiwara’s empty tent atop a ridge at an elevation of 16,200 feet.
Through interviews with other climbers, rangers determined that Hagiwara, of Sapporo, Hokkaido, was last seen climbing from the 17,200-elevation plateau to the 18,200-foot Denali Pass last Wednesday.
Rescuers also used the climber’s InReach data, which showed the location of the equipment had not changed since last Thursday, leading them to believe the climber fell from Denali Pass on the same day, according to the National Park Service. It is said that he was
After the weather cleared, a spotting scope was used to locate the climber, but he was pronounced dead when a patrol reached his body.
His body was recovered on Monday evening.
According to a park spokesperson, only the first initial of Hagiwara’s name was released at the request of his family.
Park officials said the deceased climber was one of at least 14 climbers who fell to their deaths from a dangerous section of the West Buttress Route.
with post wire
