Search for climbers hampered by clouds

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Clouds prevented two Army helicopters on Tuesday from reaching the summit of the 17,400-foot Mount Foraker in the search for two missing climbers.

“Clouds shut them down at 16,000 feet,” said Denali National Park and Preserve spokeswoman Kris Fister.

It was the sixth day of searching for Sue Nott, 36, of Vail, Colo., and Karen McNeill, 37, of Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Fister said the park service’s efforts would continue until the areas of highest probability were searched as thoroughly as possible, contingent on such factors as weather.

Searchers will try again today to explore the area below the south summit after footprints were found near there Monday.

“That’s our highest priority area because of finding the tracks at 16,400 feet,” she said.

She said searchers theorize that the two climbers may have purposely burrowed themselves into a sheltered spot, such as a crevasse, to reduce their exposure to the wind and cold.

John Loomis, a mountaineering ranger, was on board one of the aircraft searching the area Monday and photographed what he thought were footprints. An analysis of the photographs later confirmed footprints.

“He was pretty certain that it was what he was looking at but it’s much more definitive on the photographs,” Fister said.

Two Chinook helicopters from Fort Wainwright were unable to reach the summit on Tuesday, but another contracted helicopter was able to search lower elevations.

That helicopter was able to reach the 14,000-foot level and searched mountain routes and gullies with no success.

The crew also looked at an avalanche debris pile where one of the climber’s packs was earlier found but noted nothing new, Fister said.

The Park Service’s contracted high altitude Lama helicopter was expected back in service today. It wasn’t available Tuesday because of restrictions that required the pilot to rest.

Park officials said they had no indication that Nott and McNeill had approached the summit.

Nott and McNeill are experienced climbers. They were the only team climbing Foraker this spring.

They left their base camp May 12, and began their climb of the ascent route, the Infinite Spur, on May 14. The climbers had told people at base camp that they expected to complete the route in 10 days.

The search was launched Thursday night on Mount Foraker, located about 12 miles southwest of Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak.

Clouds hampered the search until conditions cleared Sunday.

A helicopter crew on Sunday spotted a yellow bag, black fleece hat and pink nylon jacket in the avalanche debris field where a ripped backpack, radio and sleeping bag were found Friday. Park officials said the items seen Sunday likely had been hidden under snow after falling from the torn pack, which is believed to have belonged to Nott.