Mt. McKinley avalanche kills skier just days after climber fell 3,000 feet to his death on same peak

A skier died after being caught in an avalanche on Alaska’s Mount McKinley, officials said Wednesday — just days after a climber fell 3,000 feet to his death on North America’s tallest peak.

Nicholas Vizzini, 29, of Washington state and his climbing partner, a snowboarder, triggered the avalanche high on the 20,310-foot peak Tuesday while descending a slope, according to a statement from Denali National Park and Preserve.

The top of where the avalanche released was at approximately 16,600 feet and ran down to about 15,000 feet, the park said.

Two mountaineering rangers on the mountain responded within minutes after spotting Vizzini’s partner amid the avalanche debris, the park statement said. They were able to detect a beacon signal and find Vizzini, who was mostly buried in debris. The rangers tried lifesaving measures, but he was pronounced dead early Tuesday evening, the statement said.

Vizzini’s body was recovered and transferred to the state medical examiner’s office. His partner sustained minor injuries and was scheduled to leave the mountain Wednesday, according to the statement.

There have been approximately 13 avalanche-related deaths and more than 130 total deaths on the mountain recorded in the history of the park, officials said Wednesday

Earlier this month, Alex Chiu, a ski mountaineer from Seattle, died from a 3,000-foot fall on the mountain’s West Buttress climbing route. Chiu is one of multiple climbers who have died in falls since 1980 along this section of Mount McKinley’s West Buttress route, according to NPS.

The climbing season typically runs from early May to early July. There are about 500 climbers on Mount McKinley currently, the park said.

Mount McKinley had its name changed back from Denali in January in response to an executive order signed by President Trump after he took office.