Alaska’s highly anticipated summer tourism season took a deadly turn with the occurrence of two separate incidents resulting in the demise of two adventuresome tourists, and the near-death fall of a mountaineer in Denali National Park.
The first incident unfolded on May 20 at approximately 8:19 pm when authorities were alerted to an ATV crash in the rugged terrain of the Jim Creek area. State Troopers and EMS personnel hurried to the scene, located around three miles beyond the trailhead. They discovered the body of 38-year-old Christopher Andersen, a Colorado resident, who had become pinned under an ATV at the bottom of a 25-foot drop-off.
The second incident occurred on May 21, at approximately 5:52 pm, when the Alaska State Troopers received the call about a young man stuck in the perilous tidal mud flats near Hope, with the tide rising. A going effort was launched, with rescue teams from the Hope Sunrise Fire Department and Girdwood Fire Department. Illinois resident Zachary Porter, age 20, was pulled out of the quicksand-like mud, but succumbed to death at about 6:43 pm.
Also on May 20, Tatsuto Hatanaka, a 24-year-old climber from Setagaya-ku, Japan, experienced a fall while ascending the West Buttress towards Peters Glacier.
According to the National Park Service, Hatanaka was climbing with a partner when, around 11 p.m., he slipped from a ridge at an elevation of 16,200 feet. His climbing partner was eventually able to alert authorities.
Approximately 15 hours after the fall, at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, park rangers were informed of the incident and quickly initiated a rescue operation. The National Park Service dispatched a helicopter to the area, where, against all odds, Hatanaka was located aliv, despite a 1,000-foot tumble. Hatanaka was promptly airlifted to a nearby hospital via a medical helicopter, with minor injuries.
Earlier in May, mountain rescuers called off the search for two climbers on in Denali National Park, after their footsteps through the snow were seen to disappear into an avalanche field.
