Climber's body found on Denali

The search for Austrian climber Juergen Kanzian concluded Thursday evening when rangers at the 14,300 ft. camp located his body using a high powered spotting scope.  Kanzian’s gear was located at 19,000 feet.  He appeared to have fallen down the infamous “Orient Express” coming to rest at 15,300 ft.  It is unknown why he diverted his earlier plans of skiing from the summit and why he would have left his gear.

Weather conditions at the time of the fall were low to moderate winds, some cloud cover and temperatures around 0 farenheit, with several feet of new snow on the ground.

Kanzian’s body will be recovered when the conditions permit.  This is the 6th fatality of the season on Denali.  There have been three others in the Alaska Range, making for one of the deadliest climbing seasons in recent history.

The full story :

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