Two climbers rescued from Alaska Range after injuries

Two climbers were evacuated from the Alaska Range after being injured in recent days.

According to the National Park Service, a team of two climbers was rappelling a route known as “Mini-Moonflower” near Mount Hunter when they were struck by falling ice and rock. One of the pair suffered a broken upper arm, but was able to descend to base camp. That climber was flown out of the range by helicopter and transported by ambulance for further treatment.

The other climbing injury involved a fall into a crevasse and a search and rescue effort by rangers and volunteers. In this incident on Sunday, a pair of climbers was attempting the popular West Buttress route on Denali when they fell off of a narrow ridge at around 16,500 feet. A guided group witnessed the fall, and saw that one of the climbers was able to slow the pair’s descent to the Peters Glacier.

A rescue team left Fourteen Camp, but was unable to attempt a rescue due to deteriorating conditions. Early Monday morning, one member of the climbing team made it back to camp and said the remaining climber was stable at the bottom of a well-marked crevasse, but was too injured to get out on her own.

A team responded loaded the injured climber into a basket, which was flown to camp by helicopter. Once back at Fourteen Camp, the climber was assessed and loaded into the helicopter for the ride back to Talkeetna. She was then taken by LifeMed air ambulance to receive treatment for head and back injuries.