A two-person team fell an estimated 1,000 feet from Mount Johnson in Alaska’s Denali National Park on Thursday night, killing one climber and seriously injuring another, authorities said.
The two women were tied with ropes as they climbed a steep route of rock, ice and snow known as the “escalator” on the 8,400-foot peak, according to a National Park Service (NPS) news release. That’s what it means.
The climber who died in the fall was identified as Robi Mekas, 52, of Keene Valley, New York. The surviving climber was identified as a 30-year-old woman from California.
Officials said another group of climbers at the summit witnessed Mekas and his partner fall. The climbers alerted park rangers before descending to the fallen climber.
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Mekas and his climbing partner were climbing a route known as the “elevator” on Mount Johnson in Alaska’s Denali National Park when they fell about 1,000 feet. (National Park Service)
After confirming Mekas was dead, the team dug a snow cave where they tended to the surviving climbers and tried to keep them warm overnight, NPS said.
The next morning, Denali’s high-altitude helicopter pilot and two climbing rangers used short-range rescue techniques to rescue his injured climbing partner.
“We are grateful to the Denali Mountain Range Rangers for their rescue efforts and to the two good Samaritans on Mount Johnson who saved the lives of their fellow climbers,” Denali National Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell said in a statement. “Our thoughts and condolences go out to the friends and family of Robi Mekas.”
View of Denali in Denali National Park, Alaska. A climber died Thursday after falling from about 1,000 feet on the park’s Mount Johnson, park officials said. (Lance King/Getty Images)
The surviving climbers were then airlifted to hospitals in Anchorage. An update on her current condition was not immediately available.
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The pilot and ranger were unable to return to the mountain to retrieve Mekas’ body on Friday due to worsening weather conditions.
Once conditions improved on Saturday, a helicopter team returned to Mount Johnson and retrieved her body.
Mekas, who died in Denali National Park, was a New York state forest ranger. (Joe Radle/Getty Images)
Mekas served as a forest ranger for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Adirondack region for 25 years, DEC Interim Director Sean Mahar said in a statement Saturday.
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In a post on His legacy of courage, compassion and service cannot be fully expressed.Rest in Peace, Ranger.” ”
