Mount Denali's extreme conditions pose risks to climbers, says US Alpine body

PETALING JAYA: The biggest difficulties for climbers when ascending Mount Denali, where a Malaysian mountaineer died, are the physical and elemental challenges, according to the American Alpine Institute.

On its website, the institute, which also organises guided climbs up Denali, said the cold weather and the amount of physical work required to get to the top are very challenging.

Climbers, it said, had to be prepared for an extremely wide range of temperatures and conditions on Denali.

"The Kahiltna Glacier, which the West Buttress route follows, can experience some of the widest temperature swings on the planet.

"When the wind is calm and the sun is out, it can be extraordinarily hot, upwards of 80 degrees Fahrenheit (around 26.6 degrees Celsius).

"At the higher camps, or when a northerly system moves in, the temperatures can dip below – 35 degrees Fahrenheit (around -37.2 degrees Celsius)," it said.

Climbers, the institute said, would need to have an intermediate level of glacier travel skills, glacier travel experience, experience with backcountry winter camping, and be in excellent cardiovascular and physical condition.

"The climbing is mostly non-technical but travel is on immense glaciers throughout and there are a few sections on the upper mountain where the climbing can be on very hard ice and snow up to 45 degrees in steepness," it said.

The best months recommended to climb Denali, it said, were late May and early June, with mountaineers usually taking two to four weeks to reach the top.

According to the Alpine Club Malaysia, Malaysian Zulkifli Yusuf was confirmed dead at 6am on Wednesday (May 29) while taking refuge in a “snow cave” in an area known as “Football Field” at an altitude of 19,700ft (around 6,004 metres) above sea level.

The suspected causes of death are high altitude cerebral edema and hypothermia, it said.

Two other Malaysians - Muhammad Illaham Ishak and Zainudin Lot - were rescued while Zulkifli's body remains at the site.

The trio had earlier successfully reached the peak of Denali before being trapped by adverse weather during their descent on May 28.

The Denali Summit is the highest mountain peak in North America with a height of 6,190m above sea level.

Also known by its former official name, Mount McKinley, it is also the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring some 5,500m.

After Mount Everest and Aconcagua, Denali is the third most prominent and third-most isolated peak on Earth.

The word Denali means "high" or "tall" in the native Koyukon language.