Malaysian men stranded near Denali summit awaiting rescue attempt

A photograph of Denali, pinch elevations marked for its acme and nan “Football Field” astatine which 2 summited Malaysian climbers became stranded during a Tuesday, May 28, 2024 descent. (From Denali National Park)

Bad upwind continues to thwart attempts to rescue two hypothermic climbers stranded adjacent Denali’s acme since Tuesday, according to parkland officials.

A Denali National Park and Preserve chopper remained grounded astatine midday Thursday by dense unreality screen connected North America’s tallest peak. Meanwhile, nan men person been bivouacking successful a “crude snowfall cave” since precocious Tuesday night, aft a acme push near them exhausted and hypothermic, according to a parkland statement.

The parkland has identified nan climbers arsenic 3 men from Malaysia. They had utilized a InReach outer instrumentality astatine 1 a.m. Tuesday to study from nan 20,310-foot acme that they were hypothermic and incapable to descend. They later reached an area called nan “Football Field” astatine an elevation of 19,600 feet.

Park officials opportunity 1 of nan men, a 48-year-old climber, was capable to descend to nan 17,200-foot precocious campy connected Tuesday and was evacuated successful superior information that night.

The different 2 climbers, ages 36 and 47, person been holed up successful nan snowfall cave.

Park officials said 5 little inReach messages came done from nan men Wednesday nighttime “in accelerated succession.” The messages confirmed their location and requested help. 

“The past connection from nan men indicated their InReach artillery was almost wholly depleted,” said nan parkland statement.

Clouds and precocious winds had besides precluded attempts overnight Wednesday to scope nan climbers, said parkland spokesperson Paul Ollig. 

A crushed unit of rangers and unpaid mountaineers was staged astatine nan mountain’s precocious camp, according to parkland officials, but conditions overnight kept nan unit from ascending immoderate higher. Both nan crushed unit and nan park’s high-altitude chopper were connected standby arsenic of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, waiting for conditions to improve.