Search for Japanese climbers in Alaska off
Source: Agencies |
June 19, 2012, Tuesday
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THE search for four Japanese climbers who were caught in an avalanche on Alaska's Mount McKinley has been called off, with authorities calling the site their final resting place.
The United States National Park Service said on Sunday that a shallow avalanche on the mountain may not have killed the climbers, but the slide pushed them into a crevasse more than 30 meters deep.
The search for them was permanently suspended after a mountaineering ranger found the climbing rope in debris at the bottom of the crevasse, spokeswoman Kris Fister said on Sunday from Talkeetna. "We believe this is their final resting place."
The four were identified as Yoshiaki Kato, 64, Masako Suda, 50, Michiko Suzuki 56, and 63-year-old Tamao Suzuki.
The avalanche early on Wednesday morning also pushed Hitoshi Ogi, 69, into the crevasse. Ogi climbed 18 meters out of the crevasse and reached a base camp on Thursday afternoon.
Ogi had been attached to the other team members by climbing rope as they descended in an avalanche-prone section of the West Buttress Route. The rope broke in the avalanche.
The group was on a section known as Motorcycle Hill at about 3,600 meters, which has a 35-degree slope. Climbers who take a required briefing on the mountain are warned of the avalanche danger there. "This is the first time there have been fatalities," Fister said.
All the climbers were members of the Japanese alpine club Miyagi Workers Alpine Federation.
The United States National Park Service said on Sunday that a shallow avalanche on the mountain may not have killed the climbers, but the slide pushed them into a crevasse more than 30 meters deep.
The search for them was permanently suspended after a mountaineering ranger found the climbing rope in debris at the bottom of the crevasse, spokeswoman Kris Fister said on Sunday from Talkeetna. "We believe this is their final resting place."
The four were identified as Yoshiaki Kato, 64, Masako Suda, 50, Michiko Suzuki 56, and 63-year-old Tamao Suzuki.
The avalanche early on Wednesday morning also pushed Hitoshi Ogi, 69, into the crevasse. Ogi climbed 18 meters out of the crevasse and reached a base camp on Thursday afternoon.
Ogi had been attached to the other team members by climbing rope as they descended in an avalanche-prone section of the West Buttress Route. The rope broke in the avalanche.
The group was on a section known as Motorcycle Hill at about 3,600 meters, which has a 35-degree slope. Climbers who take a required briefing on the mountain are warned of the avalanche danger there. "This is the first time there have been fatalities," Fister said.
All the climbers were members of the Japanese alpine club Miyagi Workers Alpine Federation.
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