May 13, 1996, Mount Hunter (14,573 feet), Denali National Park, Alaska
2 climbers caught and killed
On May 13, a slab avalanche swept two German climbers to their deaths on the
North-West face of Mount Hunter. The pair were attempting a variation of the
Lowe-Kennedy route which the pair had attempted days earlier.
The story of this accident actually started on May 5, when a group of four
Germans flew into the Kahiltna base camp (7,200 feet). Their goal was to
climb the Lowe-Kennedy route on Mount Hunter. However very soon after their
arrival the four abandoned the route because of unsafe snow conditions and
the objective hazards.
The four then left their tents at bascamp, but headed out on a multi-day ski
tour and formulated a new plan to try a different route. The four were back
at base camp on May 11 when they helped move the camp manager's shelter away
from a crevasse.
That afternoon one of the German climbers contacted a NPS ranger about their
proposed route. (At that time it was thought the route was unclimbed,
however, afterwards it was learned the route had been climbed previously.
See the American Alpine Club's 1990 Journal: pages 36-38.) The ranger
pointed out the objective dangers from the overhanging seracs and cornices.
The two also talked about the dangerous snow conditions that existed
throughout the range. (Temperatures had been much warmer than usual with
lots of wet, slushy snow at lower elevations. Rangers described the snow
conditions below 12,000 feet as more like conditions found at the end of
June than mid-May.) The German climber concurred with the ranger's
assessment of the snow conditions based on what the German's had encounter
earlier on the Lowe-Kennedy. Though snow conditions were suspect, the
climber felt they would only be exposed to the objective dangers for a short
period of time.
On May 12, the two German climbers broke trail to the base of the North-West
face to get a closer look at their route. Later that evening one of the
climbers shared their plan with their friends who were staying in camp.
Their plan was to leave at 0300 hours the next morning (May 13) and climb to
the West Ridge at 13,000 feet in one sustained push. There they would sleep
and then descend the West Ridge. The pair planned to carry technical ice
climbing equipment, three days of food and minimal bivouac gear. The
climbers seemed to have started as planned as both were later spotted, with
the aid of a spotting scope, at about 0900 hours. An NPS ranger followed the
pair's progress for a short time. The pair were climbing well and making
good progress as they belayed pitches between 9,500 and 10,500 feet.
At 1100 hours disaster struck. Climbers at the Kahiltna base camp watched an
avalanche rake the North-West face of Mount Hunter. They reported the slide
to the NPS ranger who spotted the two climbers about 1000 feet below where
they were last seen. There was no movement. Still attached by their climbing
rope, one was partly buried in a crevasse and the other was hanging. Minutes
later the accident was reported to Talkeetna Ranger Station.
At 1211 the NPS rescue helicopter and a small plane, flying cover for the
helicopter, took off from Talkeetna bound for the Kahiltna. The helicopter
would pick-up the NPS ranger at the base camp. At about 1300 hours the
helicopter left the Kahiltna base camp (7,200 feet) to reconnoiter the
accident site. Conditions were favorable and short-haul recovery was made.
The NPS ranger was lowered to the ground where he check the deceased. The
two bodies were attached to the short-haul rope and flown back to the base
camp and then transferred to the small plane and transported to Talkeetna.
The North-West face of Mount Hunter is obviously a dangerous place; cornices
and seracs overhang the face, and avalanches frequently rake the couloirs
and open slopes. Rangers report that the approach to the face has been made
only twice before. During the aerial reconnaissance for the recovery the
ranger found that a 2-foot-deep by 50-foot-wide slab had released about 400
feet above the climber's high point. It seems the avalanche might have been
triggered when the climbers moved from the ice and onto the snow slope, or
the avalanche might have been triggered by falling debris from above.
These were the 26th and 27th avalanche fatalities of the 1995-96 season.