Denali National Park rangers were able Friday to reach two stranded climbers high on 20,310-foot Denali. However, one of the climbers had died earlier in the week/NPS file

One of two climbers stranded near the roof of Denali National Park died about two days before climbing rangers were able to reach the snow cave the climbers were huddled in struggling with hypothermia, though the other was taken off the mountain early Friday.

The two, both from Malaysia, were overcome by the extreme conditions on Denali, whose 20,310-foot summit they had reached Tuesday. While a third member of their team was able to make his way down to the "high camp" located at an elevation of 17,200 feet and taken off the mountain later Tuesday, his two companions were stranded at an elevation of 19,600 feet on a wide expanse known as the "Football Field."

Poor weather conditions had prevented park rangers from reaching the Football Field until early Friday.

"According to the surviving climber, his partner had died in their snow cave approximately two days prior," a park release said.

A combination of clouds and high winds on the upper mountain had kept both a ground rescue team and aviation resources in standby mode throughout most of Wednesday and Thursday. At 10:30 p.m. Thursday the park’s high altitude helicopter pilot was able to drop a duffle bag of survival gear near the two climber’s snow cave on the Football Field. The pilot observed one climber waving at him at the time of the air drop, however winds were still too strong to safely conduct a short-haul basket extraction, the release said. 

"With improvement in weather conditions, the park’s helicopter pilot and one ranger returned for a reconnaissance flight at 6 a.m. Friday.  Wind conditions allowed for the pilot to return to the Football Field at 19,600 feet with a short-haul rescue basket at the end of a rope line. The surviving mountaineer climbed into the basket and was flown down to the 7,200-foot Kahiltna Basecamp, then evacuated to the Talkeetna State Airport for transfer to a LifeMed air ambulance," the release added. 

The identity of the deceased climber will be released pending family notification. Ranger operations will shift to planning a recovery effort in the days ahead.