Body of Missing Climber on Tallest US Peak Is Found

The first person to try climbing North America's tallest summit this season has lost his life in the attempt. Rangers at Denali National Park in Alaska say they spotted the body of 35-year-old Austrian climber Matthias Rimml, who had set out on a solo attempt to scale the 20,310-foot Mount Denali, reports CNN. "Rimml likely fell on the steep traverse between Denali Pass at 18,200 feet and the 17,200-foot plateau, a notoriously treacherous stretch of the West Buttress route," says the National Park Service in a statement. Authorities began searching when friends reported they had not heard from Rimml, who was providing regular updates of his progress, since April 30, per Alaska's News Source.

Rimml's body was spotted in an aerial search on Friday, though rangers say they have not yet been able to retrieve it. Rimml was an experienced climber and a professional mountain guide in his native Austria. He planned to climb Denali in what's known as Alpine style, meaning with light gear and relatively quickly—five days instead of the more typical 17 to 21 days, per the AP. Rimml is the 13th climber known to have died in that particular traverse, though most of the deaths have occurred on descent. (More mountain climber stories.)