Clear weather has been aiding the success of climbers. And, this week, we remember one of Denali’s most impactful rangers. KTNA’s Colleen Love has the Denali Report.
This is the Denali Report for Friday, June 19th, 2026.
There are currently 981 climbers registered to climb Denali this year. As of mid-week, 317 of them are on the mountain. There are currently 19 climbers registered to climb Mt. Foraker, and three of those on are on that mountain. 661 mountaineers have finished their expeditions.
Teams in the Alaska Range are reporting high summit rates this month. The weather has been unusually clear for almost the entire month of June.
Last week, the Alaskan mountaineering community lost a legend. Former National Park Service Chief Ranger, Daryl Miller, passed away on June 9th.
Miller was an iconic person. He served as a Marine, a ranch hand, a rodeo clown and an outdoor education instructor. In 1986, he led a Colorado-based group of students on Denali and, although that team didn’t summit, he met someone who would become a life-long friend; a ranger named Roger Robinson. Robinson invited Miller to join a patrol in 1989.
Soon after, Miller began working for the Park Service as a climbing ranger. He was soon promoted to Chief Mountaineering Ranger, a role he held until the year 2000.
Miller was involved in at least 80 rescues during his tenure in the Alaska Range.
He was also well known for a two-month long winter circumnavigation of Denali and Mt. Foraker. He achieved that feat with former Talkeetna resident, Mark Stasik in 1995.
But Miller did more than adventure and perform rescues. He believed that educating the public on survival skills was crucial. Even last year, despite his battle with Parkinson’s disease, Miller wrote a commentary for the Denali National Park website, entitled “Survival is Your Own Responsibility.”
Daryl Miller retired from the Park Service in 2008. He was 82 years old at the time of his death. You’ve been listening to the Denali Report. For KTNA, I’m Colleen Love
Photo: Daryl Miller on day 1 of the circumnavigation of the Denali Massif in 1995
