Body of Ski Mountaineer Who Fell 3,000 Feet on Denali Recovered

The original version of this story first appeared on The Inertia.

The body of a ski mountaineer who fell 3,000 feet to his death on Denali on June 3 has been recovered. According to a statement from the National Park Service (NPS), 41-year-old Alex Chiu of Seattle, Washington, fell from a point on the mountain’s West Buttress route called Squirrel Point.

Chiu was on an expedition with two others to the Peters Glacier when the accident occurred. He was apparently unroped at the time of the fall.

After Chiu fell down the exposed cliff face, his partners attempted to find him. However, they weren’t able to do so, despite lowering themselves over the edge as far as possible. They could neither see nor hear Chiu. High winds and snow deterred rescuers until early Wednesday morning. His body was recovered on June 4.

Fifteen years ago, in 2010, a climber from France fell at almost exactly the same place near Squirrel Point on Peters Glacier. His body has never been found. No further information on this recent accident has been released yet.