Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage
An Italian climber was killed in a fall today on Denali. Luciano Colombo, died in a 1,000 foot fall at about 10:00 a.m. this morning as he was on his way back down the mountain. He fell from a pass at about 18,000 feet. Mountaineers at a camp 1,000 feet below watched the fall and when mountaineering rangers responded, they discovered Colombo had died from trauma.
Maureen McLaughlin is a public information officer with the National Park Service. She says the area where the climber fell is very steep – about a 45-degree slope.
Colombo was 67-years old. This is the second death on Denali this year. 38-year-old Beat Niederer of Switzerland, died from unknown causes near 18,000 feet last week. McLaughlin says it’s unusual, but not unheard of, to have two deaths already in the first few weeks of the climbing season.
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