Man plunges 3,000-foot to his death from America's tallest mountain

Daily Mirror

15 hours ago

Tragically the two climbers who were with him at the time witnessed the horror event and were unable to rescue him despite attempting to scale as far down the face as possible
A man has tragically died after he plunged 3,000-foot off America's tallest mountain.
The devastating incident happened on Monday, June 2 when Alex Chiu, a ski mountaineer from New York, was climbing the West Buttress of Alaska 's Mount McKinley, formerly known as Denali. He was attempting the climb 'un-roped' with two others.
‌
The 41-year-old's body was found on Wednesday after he fell toward the Peters Glacier, an exposed rocky 3000-foot face, according to the Denali National Park Service. Tragically the two climbers who were with him at the time witnessed the horror event and were unable to rescue him despite attempting to scale as far down the face as possible.
‌
After their attempts to rescue their fellow climber failed the pair then descended the route to get help, but high winds and snow kept rescuers from reaching Chiu until Wednesday morning, reports MailOnline.
Chiu had posted about his trip to Denali prior to the tragic incident, including packing, their flight to Alaska and cooking with friends. He had recently moved back to New York City in 2023, according to an Instagram post.
Chiu said on Instagram that he had stopped much of his climbing following the pandemic, but had started his return to the sport. He wrote in a caption: "So, tomorrow I am getting on an airplane to Alaska, in an attempt to climb the third highest peak in the world because I don't want to know what happens to a dream deferred."
His latest post on May 19 was flooded with comments of love and remembrance from friends and followers. One wrote: "Damn I was just told the news. I can't believe it and I'm truly hurting. This man here was always the coolest, supportive and most positive human being.
‌
"I'm so sorry that you will not be able to bring all that goodness that you brought to me and to others anymore, but we will never forget. We really lost a great human being. You will be missed Alex. BR family for life!"
Another follower wrote: "Thanks for being such an amazing light and energy Alex. You were always so positive and supportive. Will miss you bud," a third wrote: "Thank you for always bringing so much positivity to the community!! I love you bro! I'm devastated and I just can't believe this is true."
A friend of Chiu's, James Lee, told the New York Times: "Alex was a well known and valued member of the Seattle climbing community. He introduced many people to mountaineering and rock climbing and could be found mountaineering, skiing or rock climbing on most weekends."
With a peak at 6,190 meters (20,310 feet), Alaska's Denali has the highest elevation in North America. Sixty million years ago, tectonic uplift pushed Earth's crust upward, forming Denali and the other Alaska Range mountains. Denali is the centerpiece of the Denali National Park and Preserve, which spans 2.4 million hectares (6 million acres) of land.