Denali climb season underway with rescue, successful summit

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Denali climbing season has begun and the National Park Service has already performed a rescue and noted a successful summit of North America’s highest mountain.

Mountaineering rangers on Saturday rescued a climber who broke his leg in a 49-foot (15-meter fall) on West Kahiltna Peak.

A ranger suspended from a short-haul rope below a high-altitude helicopter reached the climber in steep terrain at 9,600 feet (2926 meters).

The helicopter flew the ranger and injured climber to a glacier landing zone for evacuation.

The successful summit occurred April 3. Jonathon Gupta of Caernarfon, Wales, and Steven Plain of Burswood, Western Australia, part of a four-person team, reached the summit.

So far 743 climbers have registered to climb Denali. The agency expects a typical season of about 1,200 climbers.

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