Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, is a popular climbing destination for many mountaineers.
Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, is a popular climbing destination for many mountaineers.

 

A Czech mountaineer died after falling about 1,500 feet while skiing down Denali, officials said Sunday.

Pavel Michut, 45, fell while doing a ski descent of Denali’s Messner Couloir, a steep gully that connects the basin with the upper mountain of the famed Alaska peak, the National Park Service said.

Multiple witnesses saw the mountaineer fall, officials said. A nearby climbing team arrived at the scene and determined Michut had died from multiple traumatic injuries, according to the park service.

His remains will be flown to the mountain’s 14,200-foot camp once weather conditions allow and then transferred to the state medical examiner, the park service said.

Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, is a popular climbing destination for many mountaineers. Its summit is 20,237 feet.

After a 45-minute flight on a small ski plane, climbers land at Kahiltna Base Camp, sometimes called Kahiltna International Airport because climbers from all over the world fly in to attempt to climb Alaska's Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley. At <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/12/us/mount-mckinley-shrinks/">20,237 feet</a> it's the highest peak in North America.
After a 45-minute flight on a small ski plane, climbers land at Kahiltna Base Camp, sometimes called Kahiltna International Airport because climbers from all over the world fly in to attempt to climb Alaska’s Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley. At it’s the highest peak in North America.

 

Michut fell from an elevation of 17,000 feet on the route, the park service said.

As reported by CNN