FALL ON SNOW, CLIMBING UNROPED
Denali National Park, Mt. McKinley, West Buttress
Steffen Machulka (49) was a member of the three-person German climbing team “Die Bahner.” On May 18 the team was on the eighth day of the expedition and was moving from the 14,200-foot camp to the 17,200-foot camp on the West Buttress. The team climbed unroped up the fixed lines with Machulka in the lead position. National Park Service (NPS) rangers were also moving to the 17,200-foot camp and were close behind.
Around 4:30 p.m., Machulka crested the ridge at 16,200 feet, detached from the top of the fixed line, and set down his climbing pack. According to team member Klaus Dieter, who witnessed the accident, Machulka’s climbing pack started to roll down the slope toward the Peters Glacier and he jumped after it. Dieter states that within seconds Machulka was out of sight.
At 4:40 p.m., NPS ranger Kevin Wright arrived at the top of the fixed lines and the accident was reported to him. The National Park contract helicopter 3AE was at base camp conducting training with NPS staff, so Wright requested an aerial reconnaissance of the accident site. Wright and his team began descending the slope toward the Peters Glacier but were unable to locate any sign of Machulka.
At 5:17 p.m., NPS helicopter 3AE launched from base camp to reconnoiter the accident site, with ranger Dave Weber onboard. Shortly after arriving on the scene, they spotted a body at approximately 15,100 feet. The helicopter performed a toe-in hover operation, allowing rangers Weber and Taysom to exit the aircraft and assess Machulka’s condition. He showed signs of massive head trauma incompatible with life and was pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m. His body was loaded into the helicopter and transported back to Talkeetna that evening. (Source: Mik Shain, Mountaineering Ranger.)
大意说49岁的Steffen Machulka 是德国3人攀登小组的成员。他们打算从海拔4328米到5242的营地，有个护林员在他们后面也向营地前进。
在未用绳子保护的情况下steffen领攀，下午4：30分沿着固定路绳爬到4934米的山脊后解下了背包，队伍里的另一名队员看见他的背包滚下山，他跟着jump after it（跳下去，不是fall，不知道是不是我理解错了），结果可想而知。
下午4：40分在他们后面的护林员赶到现场，幸运的是和国家公园有合同的直升机3AE正在当地训练，于是护林员呼叫直升机救援。。
下午5:17分 NPS直升机3AE带上另一个护林员，直升机在海拔4602米发现steffen，放了两个人下去救援，steffen当时还剩一口气于5:50分死亡。直升机带着steffen的尸体返回。
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Denali National Park, Mt. McKinley, West Buttress
Steffen Machulka (49) was a member of the three-person German climbing team “Die Bahner.” On May 18 the team was on the eighth day of the expedition and was moving from the 14,200-foot camp to the 17,200-foot camp on the West Buttress. The team climbed unroped up the fixed lines with Machulka in the lead position. National Park Service (NPS) rangers were also moving to the 17,200-foot camp and were close behind.
Around 4:30 p.m., Machulka crested the ridge at 16,200 feet, detached from the top of the fixed line, and set down his climbing pack. According to team member Klaus Dieter, who witnessed the accident, Machulka’s climbing pack started to roll down the slope toward the Peters Glacier and he jumped after it. Dieter states that within seconds Machulka was out of sight.
At 4:40 p.m., NPS ranger Kevin Wright arrived at the top of the fixed lines and the accident was reported to him. The National Park contract helicopter 3AE was at base camp conducting training with NPS staff, so Wright requested an aerial reconnaissance of the accident site. Wright and his team began descending the slope toward the Peters Glacier but were unable to locate any sign of Machulka.
At 5:17 p.m., NPS helicopter 3AE launched from base camp to reconnoiter the accident site, with ranger Dave Weber onboard. Shortly after arriving on the scene, they spotted a body at approximately 15,100 feet. The helicopter performed a toe-in hover operation, allowing rangers Weber and Taysom to exit the aircraft and assess Machulka’s condition. He showed signs of massive head trauma incompatible with life and was pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m. His body was loaded into the helicopter and transported back to Talkeetna that evening. (Source: Mik Shain, Mountaineering Ranger.)
大意说49岁的Steffen Machulka 是德国3人攀登小组的成员。他们打算从海拔4328米到5242的营地，有个护林员在他们后面也向营地前进。
在未用绳子保护的情况下steffen领攀，下午4：30分沿着固定路绳爬到4934米的山脊后解下了背包，队伍里的另一名队员看见他的背包滚下山，他跟着jump after it（跳下去，不是fall，不知道是不是我理解错了），结果可想而知。
下午4：40分在他们后面的护林员赶到现场，幸运的是和国家公园有合同的直升机3AE正在当地训练，于是护林员呼叫直升机救援。。
下午5:17分 NPS直升机3AE带上另一个护林员，直升机在海拔4602米发现steffen，放了两个人下去救援，steffen当时还剩一口气于5:50分死亡。直升机带着steffen的尸体返回。
