Two Climbers Killed in Fall on Alaska's Mount McKinley

Two climbers were killed on Thursday night when they fell 1,900 feet down North America's highest mountain, Mount McKinley, in Alaska.

Mizuki Takahashi was pronounced dead on the mountain not long after she was found by Denali National Park and Reserve rangers. Takahashi was 36 years old. Brian Massey, a friend of Takahashi's, lived through the fall but died on Friday morning after remaining unconscious for all of Thursday night. Massey was 27 years old.

National Park Service spokesperson Kris Fister said that Takahashi and Massey were both climbing with another person but that individual stayed at a lower level of the mountain instead of continuing with them.

The fatal fall took place at an elevation of roughly 19,000 feet. Park rangers actually witnessed the entire ordeal and watched Takahashi and Massey fall from a distance. Rangers got to the scene quickly, but it was still too late. The two were roped together as they fell. Details are not known as to how the fall came to be and what caused it.

As said before, Mount McKinley is North America's highest mountain with a peak elevation of about 20,320 feet. It is park of the Alaska Range of mountains. Mount McKinley is actually bigger in size than the famous Mount Everest, but the elevation is higher favoring Everest due to the including of sea level in measurements. Mount McKinley is known for being a very dangerous mountain to climb and climbers experience not only treacherous faces of rock and snow but also bitter cold.

These two deaths were the first fatalities on Mount McKinley since May of 2005.

Massey was a native of North Bend, Washington and Takahashi was from Lake Forest Park, Washington. Takahashi was a very experienced climber who had lead many hikes in his home state. Massey was a firefighter in Kent, Washington.

Source:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18746622/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18750538/