New Jersey man dies attempting to climb Alaska’s Denali

A New Jersey man died Friday night as he tried to summit Alaska’s Denali, the tallest peak in North America.

The 48-year-old climber, Fernando Birman, of Stockton, New Jersey, collapsed at about 5:45 p.m. whereas trying to scale the mountainside, in accordance with the Nationwide Park Service.

Mountain guides instantly began CPR, however have been unable to avoid wasting him. Birman by no means regained a pulse and was pronounced useless on the scene.

Birman was not far off from reaching the summit earlier than his premature dying — he collapsed at 19,700 toes and Denali’s peak stretches 20,310 toes excessive.

The Nationwide Park Service stated his reason for dying is unknown, however according to sudden cardiac arrest.

Birman’s guides aided in his physique’s restoration effort from a 19,500-foot plateau often known as the Soccer Area utilizing a short-haul basket.

His physique was transferred to the Alaska medical expert late Friday evening to endure a full post-mortem.

The New Jersey man is the third climber to have died within the nationwide park this 12 months.

Final month, a 43-year-old Japanese climber was presumed useless on Might when he fell by way of an ice bridge right into a crevasse the place he was buried with snow and ice.

On Might 6, the physique of a 35-year-old Australian climber was present in a notoriously treacherous stretch of the Denali Cross — the place 12 others have fallen to their deaths through the years, in accordance with the Nationwide Park Service. He had not been heard from since April 30.

It usually takes a number of weeks to achieve Denali’s summit and the climb is simply really useful for specialists with expertise in glacier journey, expedition environments and winter tenting in arctic situations, the Nation Park Service advises.