Solo Climber Found Dead on Denali
A two-person climbing team found the body of an Argentinian solo climber at the 17,200-foot camp of Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska.
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![Base camp of Denali at 7,200 feet. Callupan left base camp on May 1 for the 14,200-foot camp. He was last seen on May 6 departing for the 17,200-foot camp. [iStock Photo]](https://d1vs4ggwgd7mlq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/Article-Images/News-Photos/May-2015/Denali_climbers_camp_SMALL.jpg?width=730 "Base camp of Denali at 7,200 feet. Callupan left base camp on May 1 for the 14,200-foot camp. He was last seen on May 6 departing for the 17,200-foot camp. [iStock Photo]")
A two-person climbing team found the body of an Argentinian solo climber at the 17,200-foot camp of Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska.
Heraldo Javier Callupan, 39, of General Roca, Argentina was found lying face first in the middle of the camp plateau just before midnight on Sunday, May 10, according to the National Park Service. He appeared to have died from and unknown medical issue.
Callupan began climbing the West Buttress route of Denali on May 1. According to other climbing parties, Callupan was last seen leaving the 14,200-foot camp for the 17,200-camp on May 6. No parties camped at 17,200 feet until Sunday, when Callupan’s body was found.
This is the first reported death this year on the 20,320-foot mountain. It is the 123rd fatality on Denali since 1932.
NPS officials report that efforts to retrieve Callupan’s body have been delayed due to weather and so rangers can acclimatize. Officials will recover his body by helicopter and transport the remains to the Alaska State Medical Examiner’s office to determine the cause of death.