National Park Service Ranger Dies in Crevasse Fall While on Climbing Patrol on Denali

Robin Pendery, a seasonal National Park Service mountaineering ranger from Enumclaw, Washington, died Thursday afternoon after falling into a crevasse on Mount McKinley, also known as Denali. m. local time.

She had been helping run operations at the 14,200-foot camp alongside another ranger. National Park Service personnel launched an immediate rescue effort, but Pendery did not survive. Authorities said the exact circumstances of the fall remain under investigation.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of a member of our Denali family,” Denali National Park superintendent Brooke Merrell said in a statement. “Our mountaineering rangers dedicate themselves to serving visitors and helping others in one of the most challenging environments in the world. ” Pendery had worked as a seasonal mountaineering ranger at Denali National Park and Preserve since 2024.

Her duties included emergency response, climber safety and high-altitude operations. The death occurred one week after a separate accident near Denali Pass, one of the mountain’s most hazardous stretches. Four members of a seven-person expedition fell during that incident.

Inese Puceka, Vija Olte and Renars Kunigs-Salaks died in the earlier fall. A fourth climber survived in critical condition and was rescued by helicopter from a basin at 17,200 feet using a long-line extraction because weather and terrain prevented a standard landing. Denali rises 20,310 feet above sea level.

Between 1,000 and 1,200 climbers attempt the summit each year, mostly in May and June. Fewer than half succeeded last year. More than 130 people have died on the mountain in the park’s history.