Climbing companions watch as NW man falls to his death on Alaska mountain, rangers say

Climbers were on an icy Alaska mountain when they saw a man in their group fall 3,000 feet to his death in Denali National Park, officials said.

Alex Chiu, 41, of Seattle, died June 2 after falling from Mount McKinley’s West Buttress climbing route, the National Park Service said in a June 4 news release.

He was with two other climbers on a route to Peters Glacier when the unroped climber fell at a rocky glacial face at Squirrel Point, park officials said.

The group tried to lower themselves over the mountain’s ledge, but park officials said they couldn’t see or hear Chiu.

The two climbers went down the West Buttress to get help before reaching Camp 1, officials said.

Rescuers couldn’t recover Chiu’s body until June 4 because of the strong wind and snow, park officials said.

But as soon as the weather cleared, two rangers in a helicopter found his body on the mountain, officials said.

Mount McKinley is the tallest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet high, according to park officials.

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