Mckinley Snow Sparse

Mountaineering

Climbers trying to reach the summit of Mount McKinley will find sparse snow cover on North America’s highest peak this spring, those who know the continent’s tallest peak say.

Adequate snow cover is needed to bridge the deep crevasses on the Alaska mountain’s glaciers. If those snow bridges are thin, they are more likely to melt and collapse.

Officials say the number of climbers headed for McKinley this spring should exceed the 1,148 that attempted to reach the summit in 1996.

Of those who climbed the 20,320-foot mountain last year, 43 percent reached the summit. Bad weather was blamed for the drop from the normal success rate of 50 percent.

About one-third of the climbers come from around the globe, including Japan, Korea, Spain, Russia, Germany and Switzerland. Each climber must pay a $150 fee. , DataTimes