A Japanese climber died of unknown causes high on Denali along the West Buttress Route/NPS
A 66-year-old Japanese climber trying to summit Denali in Denali National Park and Preserve died of unknown causes this week after falling ill a day earlier.
Park officials on Wednesday said the man, Masayuki Ikeda, of Toride, Japan, fell ill high on Denali's West Buttress route. He was a member of a four-person climbing team making a bid for the summit of 20,308-foot Denali the night of June 13 when he fell ill.
Another independent climbing team was descending from the summit in the early morning hours Tuesday when they encountered Ikeda and his three climbing partners somewhere between 18,400 feet and 19,000 feet, a park release said. At that point, Mr. Ikeda had an altered mental status and was non-ambulatory. The descending team provided initial assistance, and then continued down to the high camp at 17,200-feet where they used a satellite phone to alert park rescue personnel.
Denali National Park launched the high altitude A-Star B3e helicopter from Talkeetna at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday under clear skies. After an initial reconnaissance flight, the helicopter pilot flew back to the 18,400-foot elevation with a short-haul rescue basket. The teammates loaded the Mr. Ikeda into the basket, and he was short-hauled down to the 14,200-foot camp.
Upon initial assessment, NPS and military rescue personnel at the 14,200-foot camp did not detect a pulse. They loaded the patient internally in the helicopter and two Air National Guard Pararescuemen began resuscitation efforts during the flight down to the Kahiltna Basecamp at 7,200 feet. They continued advanced life support (ALS) care at basecamp, but the Mr. Ikeda was pronounced deceased at 9:40 a.m. Tuesday.
The climber’s remains were then flown to Talkeetna and subsequently transferred to the State of Alaska Medical Examiner.
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Comments
Thanks for the detail of the accident!
I am a friend of Mr. Ikeda's.
Many Japanese online news have reported the accident.
However, the contents was too simple.
This site would be very helpful for not only Mr.Ikeda's friends but also his families to know the process of the accident and accept the situation.
Thanks, again!
Condolences on the loss of your friend.
I am deeply saddened with the loss of my good friend Masa. We climbed together and enjoyed sharing stories of our adventures. He was a good man. He loved his family more than anything. I will miss you my friend. May you be at peace.