Latest news with #AlexChiu
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Mountaineer suffers devastating 3,000-foot plunge to his death from America's tallest mountain
A ski mountaineer from New York suffered a devastating 3,000-foot drop to his death off America's tallest mountain. Alex Chiu, 41, was climbing the West Buttress of Alaska 's Mount McKinley, formerly Denali, 'un-roped' with two others on Monday when he fell from Squirrel Point. Chiu fell toward the Peters Glacier, an exposed rocky 3000-foot face, where his body was found two days later, according to the Denali National Park Service. Those with him witnessed Chiu fall, and attempted to scale as far down the face as possible but were unable to hear or see the mountaineer. The pair then descended the route for help, but high winds and snow kept rescuers from reaching Chiu until Wednesday morning. Chiu had recently moved back to New York City in 2023, according to an Instagram post. The mountaineer had posted about his trip to Denali prior to the tragic accident, including packing, their flight to Alaska and cooking with friends. A friend of Chiu's, James Lee, told the New York Times that Chiu handled other climbs before his fateful last. 'Alex was a well known and valued member of the Seattle climbing community,' Lee said. 'He introduced many people to mountaineering and rock climbing and could be found mountaineering, skiing or rock climbing on most weekends.' Chiu said on Instagram that he had stopped much of his climbing following the pandemic, but had started his return to the sport. '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,' he wrote. His latest post on May 19 was flooded with comments of love and remembrance. One wrote: 'My heart is broken. You will be so missed Alex. You are such a light. You touched every single person you encountered.' 'Thanks for being such an amazing light and energy Alex. You were always so positive and supportive. Will miss you bud,' another said. One commenter wrote: 'One of the most adventurous, sweet, passionate souls to ever grace the world of extreme sports. Alex was bold and brave, with the kindest heart- full of love for friends, family, and adventure.' Chiu wrote on his last post: 'I had become an Alpinist, a mountain climber specializing in high and difficult ascents. I slowly realized I was living my dream every single weekend, I could do this every single weekend...'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Experienced climber dies after 3,000-foot plummet from North America's highest peak
A Seattle man died after falling 3,000 feet from a climbing route at Denali National Park in Alaska, the National Park Service said Wednesday. Alex Chiu, 41, was ascending the West Buttress route of Mount McKinley on Monday, June 2, one of the park's most frequently climbed routes, while not attached to a rope, the agency said in a statement. He was ski mountaineering, which involves ascending and descending the route with skis. He was joined by two others in his expedition to conquer North America's highest peak. Two others witnessed his fall onto the rocky face covered in jagged ice, and lowered themselves over the edge as far as they could, but they could not see or hear him after the fall, officials said. Alaska Man Survives Being Pinned Face-down By 700-Pound Boulder In Creek After Help From His Wife The mountaineers descended the route to ask for assistance at Camp 1, which is located around 7,800 feet up the mountain. Read On The Fox News App Due to high winds and snow, ground and air search teams were unable to quickly reach the area where he had fallen on Monday. On Wednesday, clear weather allowed two rangers to depart Talkeetna, a village south of the mountain, in a helicopter search for Chiu. When his body was found, it was transferred to the state medical examiner, the agency said. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Alaska State Medical Examiner's Office for Chiu's official cause of death. Chiu was an aerospace engineer at the Federal Aviation Administration and, before that, a software engineer at Boeing, according to his LinkedIn profile. On his social media accounts, he described himself as a storyteller, traveler, scuba diver, rock climber, alpinist and marathon runner. He wrote on his Instagram account about how living in Seattle allowed him to take his ice-climbing tools to the mountains every weekend. He shared that following the daily grind of his 9-to-5, he would pack up his gear and head to the mountains. "I had become so good at what I did that I started teaching others how to do it, and that was even more fun to teach others how to experience the joy you have in these wild places," he wrote in an Instagram post. "When I am in the mountains, I realize I was at my best. I was smart, witty, passionate, and bold." Fatal Fall In Washington's North Cascades Kills 3, Leaves 1 Survivor The pandemic put the brakes on his alpine climbs, but he dreamed of heading back to the climb. "So tomorrow I am getting on an airplane to Alaska," he wrote in an Instagram post on May 19, "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." The busiest season on the mountain lasts from mid-May to mid-June; there were about 500 climbers on it Wednesday, the agency said. Chiu is one of several people who have died while climbing Mount McKinley or other areas of Denali National Park. In April 2024, 52-year-old Robbi Mecus, of Keene Valley, New York, fell to his death while climbing an estimated 1,000 feet off Mount Johnson in the national park. The NPS said that a similar accident happened in 2010, in a similar location. That incident involved an unroped French mountaineer, who fell to his death on the Peters Glacier. His body was never article source: Experienced climber dies after 3,000-foot plummet from North America's highest peak
Fox News
4 days ago
- Fox News
Experienced climber dies after 3,000-foot plummet from North America's highest peak
A Seattle man died after falling 3,000 feet from a climbing route at Denali National Park in Alaska, the National Park Service said Wednesday. Alex Chiu, 41, was ascending the West Buttress route of Mount McKinley on Monday, June 2, one of the park's most frequently climbed routes, while not attached to a rope, the agency said in a statement. He was ski mountaineering, which involves ascending and descending the route with skis. He was joined by two others in his expedition to conquer North America's highest peak. Two others witnessed his fall onto the rocky face covered in jagged ice, and lowered themselves over the edge as far as they could, but they could not see or hear him after the fall, officials said. The mountaineers descended the route to ask for assistance at Camp 1, which is located around 7,800 feet up the mountain. Due to high winds and snow, ground and air search teams were unable to quickly reach the area where he had fallen on Monday. On Wednesday, clear weather allowed two rangers to depart Talkeetna, a village south of the mountain, in a helicopter search for Chiu. When his body was found, it was transferred to the state medical examiner, the agency said. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Alaska State Medical Examiner's Office for Chiu's official cause of death. Chiu was an aerospace engineer at the Federal Aviation Administration and, before that, a software engineer at Boeing, according to his LinkedIn profile. On his social media accounts, he described himself as a storyteller, traveler, scuba diver, rock climber, alpinist and marathon runner. He wrote on his Instagram account about how living in Seattle allowed him to take his ice-climbing tools to the mountains every weekend. He shared that following the daily grind of his 9-to-5, he would pack up his gear and head to the mountains. "I had become so good at what I did that I started teaching others how to do it, and that was even more fun to teach others how to experience the joy you have in these wild places," he wrote in an Instagram post. "When I am in the mountains, I realize I was at my best. I was smart, witty, passionate, and bold." The pandemic put the brakes on his alpine climbs, but he dreamed of heading back to the climb. "So tomorrow I am getting on an airplane to Alaska," he wrote in an Instagram post on May 19, "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." The busiest season on the mountain lasts from mid-May to mid-June; there were about 500 climbers on it Wednesday, the agency said. Chiu is one of several people who have died while climbing Mount McKinley or other areas of Denali National Park. In April 2024, 52-year-old Robbi Mecus, of Keene Valley, New York, fell to his death while climbing an estimated 1,000 feet off Mount Johnson in the national park. The NPS said that a similar accident happened in 2010, in a similar location. That incident involved an unroped French mountaineer, who fell to his death on the Peters Glacier. His body was never recovered.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Alaska rangers recover body of man who died from fall on North America's tallest peak
Mountaineering rangers in Alaska recovered the body of a Seattle man who died after falling 3,000ft from a climbing route on Denali, or Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America. The National Park Service said that Alex Chiu, 41, was on the treacherous mountain's west buttress route when he fell from a location called Squirrel Point, about 12,000ft above sea level. Chiu's body was transferred to the state medical examiner on Wednesday, the Denali national park and preserve said. Two other members of Chiu's team had reported on Monday that Chui had fallen and that they had lowered themselves over the edge as far as possible but were unable to see or hear Chiu. He was not roped up at the time of the fall. Ground and air search crews were unable to reach the site until early Wednesday because of very high winds and heavy snow. An unroped French mountaineer fell to his death near the same location in 2010. His body was never recovered. This is the busiest time of year for climbing the peak, in May and June when climbers descend on the regional town of Talkeetna. There are currently 500 climbers on the peak and more on other mountains and glacial approaches to peaks in the spectacular range that is breathtaking but fraught with risk. Denali is known to be deceptively dangerous, although it looks relatively benign to ordinary tourists viewing the summit on a clear day from Denali national park. Despite being lower above sea level, the mountain has a greater vertical climb from the base to the summit than the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Climbers wanting to summit Denali must scale 18,000 vertical feet compared with Everest's 12,000ft. The Associated Press contributed reporting
Time of India
4 days ago
- General
- Time of India
The fall guy: Climber dies after 3,000-foot fall in Denali's national park; partners witness fall
Alex Chiu, 41, from Brooklyn, tragically died after falling approximately 3,000 feet from a climbing route at Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska, according to the National Park Service. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Chiu was climbing un-roped on one of the most popular routes in the park on Monday during a ski mountaineering expedition, which involves climbing mountains with skis or ski gear and then skiing back down. according to the officials his two climbing partners witnessed his fall onto a rocky, glacial ice-covered face. Despite attempting to reach him, they lost sight and sound of him after the fall. The team quickly descended the route to seek help, but harsh weather conditions including high winds and snow delayed both ground and air search efforts. Improved weather on Wednesday allowed two rangers to conduct a helicopter search from Talkeetna, a village south of the mountain, where they recovered Chiu's body. It was then handed over to the state medical examiner. The West Buttress route is considered the easiest and most frequently climbed path on Denali, attracting about 500 climbers during the busy season from mid-May to mid-June. This year, the mountain's name was officially changed from Mount Denali to Mount McKinley by presidential Donal Trump. Chiu, an aviation engineer at the Federal Aviation Administration and former Boeing software engineer, was an experienced alpinist with over a 10 years of climbing experience. His friend James Lee described him as a respected member of Seattle's climbing community who often volunteered as an instructor for mountaineering, ice, and rock climbing through the Boeing Employees Alpine Society. 'Alex introduced many people to mountaineering and could be found climbing or skiing most weekends,' Lee said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Chiu's Instagram reflected his passion, where he often shared his love for ice climbing and his confidence in the mountains. In a post before his trip to Alaska, Chiu wrote, 'When I am in the mountains, I realize I was at my best. I was smart, witty, passionate, and bold.' He also expressed concerns about losing his skills during the pandemic when he moved to Brooklyn to be closer to family but remained determined to return to alpine climbing. 'So tomorrow I am getting on an airplane to Alaska,' he wrote on May 19, '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.' Denali is North America's tallest peak and has seen several fatalities over the years. Last year, a woman climber died on a different route known as the Escalator on Mount Johnson in the same park.
