Oregon Man Killed In Jasper Glacier Fall

An Oregon man fell to his death in a remote crevasse in Jasper National Park while posing for a picture, park officials said.

Alan Wyland, 36, whose hometown was not immediately known, was on a three-day trek to a glacier with fellow climber Terry Bovee, of Michigan, when the accident occurred.

At about noon Wednesday, the pair were attempting to traverse the Columbia Icefields in the southwest corner of the park.

“They were taking pictures when (Wyland) stepped onto a poorly-bridged crevasse,” said park warden Steve Blake. Wyland fell about 50 feet into a 2-1/2-foot wide crack in the ice.

Although the men were wearing climbing harnesses, they were not roped together. Wyland fell with the pair’s rope.

Bovee ran to their base camp and fetched a 165-foot length of clothesline. That was just long enough to bring out one end of the rope, with other end attached to Wyland.

Bovee said he tried for three hours to haul his friend from the crevasse, giving up when Wyland no longer answered his calls.

Bovee began 25-mile trip through rugged country to notify wardens.

Bovee, his feet blistered and hands raw from pulling on rope, arrived at the falls around 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Wyland’s body was recovered about five hours later.

Wyland’s parents, in the area and expecting to meet the climbers, were soon notified.