A Malaysian climber likely died of exposure and altitude-related illness earlier this week after sheltering for days in a snow cave with minimal survival gear near the top of Denali, North America’s tallest mountain in Alaska, according to park officials.
Zulkifli Bin Yusof, 36, likely died on Wednesday in a 19,600 foot (5,974 metre) elevation cave in Denali National Park and Preserve, park spokesman Paul Ollig said on Saturday. The National Park Service recovered his body on Friday night, Ollig said.
Zulkifli was part of a three-man climbing team, all of whom listed their address as the Alpine Club of Malaysia in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, according to Ollig. Yusof’s two partners survived.
Park rangers first received an SOS message from the team at 1am on Tuesday, indicating the climbers were hypothermic and unable to descend after reaching the Alaskan mountain’s 20,310-foot (6,190-metre) summit.
One of the men, a 48-year-old, was rescued on Tuesday night after descending to a 17,200-foot (5,243-metre) camp. He was described by the park as having severe frostbite and hypothermia.
Late on Thursday, the park’s high-altitude helicopter pilot was able to drop a bag with survival gear near the snow cave and saw a climber waving at him, but strong winds prevented a rescue at that time, the park said.
The other climber, a 47-year-old, was rescued on Friday morning after days of cloudy, windy conditions.
Two of the three men had previous experience on Denali, Ollig said. All three had previously climbed other high-elevation mountains, he said.
The climber rescued on Friday was taken to an Anchorage hospital for additional care and “was in surprisingly strong condition, walking on his own even, considering what he endured,” Ollig previously said. The park said it would not release the climber’s name or additional information about him and the other survivor.
The other climber is also recovering at a hospital.
