Solo climber stranded on Yukon’s Mount Logan rescued
Posted May 4, 2017 1:28 pm.
Last Updated May 5, 2017 12:40 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WHITEHORSE – A climber who was stranded on Canada’s highest mountain following an earthquake in Yukon has reportedly been rescued.
Natalia Martinez, 37, of Argentina, began a solo climb on Mount Logan in Kluane National Park and Reserve on April 22. Two large earthquakes on Monday caused avalanches near her camp.
A message posted by ExpeNews on its website — which is used by climbers, trekkers and outdoor enthusiasts to track their progress and location — said Martinez was successfully rescued in a three-hour operation that ended at about 10:30 p.m. local time. (1 a.m. ET).
Parks Canada had said Thursday that bad weather was preventing a rescue attempt, but ExpeNews said a pilot with the charter service Icefield Discovery was in the area and noticed an improvement in the conditions.
ExpeNews said the pilot alerted a rescue team, and after checking with Martinez, it was decided to launch a rescue. The website said Martinez was taken to the Icefield Discovery base in Kluane Lake in southwest Yukon.
Parks Canada spokeswoman Christine Aikens said earlier that officials were in close contact with Martinez — an experienced climber who reported that she still had a good supply of food and fuel.
Aikens said avalanches caused by the quakes had caused glacial ice to fall in the area of the climber’s camp, which is at 3,900-metre level on the east ridge of Mount Logan.
An average of 25 climbers try to summit the mountain every year, but Aikens said solo attempts are rare.
