Tragedy after skier, 29, triggered avalanche while descending America's tallest mountain
A 29-year-old skier died on America's highest mountain after triggering an avalanche while trying to descend its treacherous peak.
Nicholas Vizzini, from Washington state, was with an unnamed climbing partner on Tuesday when they accidentally caused the crisis on Mount McKinley at over 16,000 feet, officials said.
The Alaskan mountain, previously known as Denali before it was renamed earlier this year by President Trump, was the subject of an intensive search after the two became trapped under heavy snow.
According to officials from the Denali National Park and Preserve rangers responded to the mountain within minutes after Vizzini's partner was spotted in debris from the avalanche.
Rangers were then able to detect a beacon signal to find Vizzini, who was found buried under the debris.
Despite lifesaving efforts from first responders, he was pronounced dead on Tuesday evening and his body was transferred to the state medical examiner's office.
His partner sustained only minor injuries.
The skiers death is the second recorded on Mount McKinley this year, after Alex Chiu, 33, also lost his life on the mountain earlier this month.
Chiu, originally from Seattle, reportedly died after falling over 3,000 feet on the mountain's steep West Buttress climbing route, the same route where Vizzini died on Tuesday.
The avalanche that killed Vizzini is known as a 'soft slab' avalanche, where soft, powdery debris typically from recent storms is sent down the mountain face.
Officials said the avalanche released at over 16,000 feet and released for over 1,000 feet down the slope.
Rangers were able to find Vizzini so quickly because two were already on the mountain face for an altitude acclimatization climb.
When the rangers found him, they reportedly continued lifesaving measures for forty minutes before he was pronounced dead.
The park service said they were discontinued 'due to traumatic injuries and no pulse.'
The deaths of Vizzini and Chui mark a dark start to Mount McKinley's climbing season, which typically begins in May and ends in early July.
'There have been approximately 13 avalanche-related deaths and more than 130 total deaths on the mountain recorded in the history of the park,' the park service said in a statement after Vizzini's death.
On the West Buttress route where the two men died this month, a total of 15 climbers have died since 1980, National Park Service spokesperson Amber Smigiel told USA TODAY.
The park added that the mountain remains open, and there are currently an estimated 500 people on Mount McKinley.
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