Latest news with #Chiu
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Man plunges 3,000-foot to his death from America's tallest mountain
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.
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
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.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Ski mountaineer from NYC plummets 3,000 feet to death while scaling America's tallest mountain
An experienced ski mountaineer from the Big Apple plummeted 3,000 feet to his death while climbing America's tallest mountain Monday, officials said. Alex Chiu, 41, was scaling the West Buttress route of Alaska's Mount McKinley, formerly Mount Denali, 'un-roped' alongside two members of his expedition when he tumbled toward Peters Glacier, an exposed, ice-covered rock below, according to the National Park Service. The other mountaineers traversed down the hill, located within Denali National Park, to ask for help, but high winds and snow prevented rescuers from reaching the spot where Chiu had fallen. 3 Alex Chiu died while scaling the West Buttress route of Alaska's Mount McKinley ' unroped.' therealchiu718/Instagram Chiu's body was recovered Wednesday morning when the weather cleared and two rangers could use a helicopter to search for the remains. His body was transferred to the state's medical examiner, the park service said. While officials listed him as a Seattle resident, the New York native said in a social media post that he moved back to Brooklyn in 2023. Records also indicate he most recently lived in Brooklyn. In that Instagram post from May 19, Chiu said he was going to Alaska to climb the world's third-highest peak in hopes of recapturing the adventurous spirit he once had while living in Seattle before the COVID pandemic. 'By 2023 I had all but stopped climbing tall peaks and living to tell about it. I moved back home to Brooklyn, NY to be closer to my family and to a new beginning. I had gone tired of pushing my body to the limit, knowing that the consequences could be high with my diminished skillset,' he wrote. 3 Chiu's body was recovered Wednesday morning. National Park Service 3 Mount McKinley is America's tallest mountain. ricktravel – 'I spent the last year working my desk job, running to stay in shape, and after my long runs on Saturdays I always found myself going to the local outdoor retailers REI, The North Face, Arcteryx, I had nothing to buy I just wanted to see the pictures of what I used to do, who I used to be.' A pal, James Lee, told the New York Times that Chiu handled other alpine climbs before he set his sights on Mount McKinley. '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 worked for the Federal Aviation Administration as an aerospace engineer, according to his LinkedIn. There are currently 500 climbers on the mountain with the busy season typically between early May and early July, officials said.
