A Malaysian climber likely died from exposure and altitude-related illness earlier this week after hiding for several days in a snow cave with minimal survival equipment near the summit of Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, in Alaska, in accordance with park officials.
Zulkifli Bin Yusof, 36, likely died Wednesday within the 5,974-meter cave in Denali National Park and Preserve, park spokesman Paul Ollig said Saturday. Ollig said the National Park Service found his body Friday evening.
Park rangers first received an SOS message from the team at 1 a.m. Tuesday, indicating that the climbers were hypothermic and unable to descend after reaching the highest of the 20,310-foot (6,190 m) Alaska mountain.
One of the boys, a 48-year-old, was rescued on Tuesday evening after descending to the camp situated at an altitude of 5,243 meters. Park described him as affected by severe frostbite and hypothermia.
Late Thursday evening, the pilot of a high-altitude helicopter flying within the park managed to drop a bag of rescue equipment near a snow cave and saw a climber waving at him, but strong winds then prevented a rescue operation, the park said.
The second climber, a 47-year-old, was rescued on Friday morning after cloudy and windy days.
Ollig said two of the three men had previous experience on Denali. He said all three had climbed other high-altitude mountains before.
The climber rescued Friday was taken to an Anchorage hospital for extra care, and “was in surprisingly good condition, even walking on his own, considering what he had been through,” Ollig previously said. The park said it could not release the climber’s name or additional details about him and the opposite survivor.
The second climber can be recovering in hospital.
