Five people were stranded Friday when bad weather prevented three planes from flying off Ruth Glacier in Denali National Park, Alaska State Troopers said. Officials eventually hired guides to lead the group to their nearest shelter at the Sheldon Chalet, soldiers wrote.
On Friday, the five people reached Ruth Glacier in a Cessna 180 and two Piper PA18 aircraft, soldiers wrote in one Online declaration. The group was at about 4,500 feet when bad weather prevented them from flying out, the soldiers wrote, and so they spent Friday evening on the glacier.
Ruth Glacier is located on the southeast side of Denali and is one of the largest glacier in the national park. It is a common destination for air travel. The top of the glacier is about 3 miles below the mountaintop.
The group called for a rescue on Saturday morning “due to limited survival resources,” the soldiers wrote. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center and the National Park Service worked with soldiers to “hire multiple guides to trek to the group in an emergency,” the soldiers said.
“The guides and the stranded group hiked to the Sheldon Chalet, which is about 3 miles away. The group will seek shelter until the weather is clear, ”the soldiers wrote.
The Sheldon Chalet is a small luxury lodge in a private building in the park, around 16 km from Denali summit. There’s a smaller structure nearby, the 212-square-foot Mountain House, which is also available for those traveling in the backcountry. It was unclear on Sunday to which structure the travelers were led. Sheldon Chalet officials could not be reached immediately on Sunday afternoon.
The group arrived at the site on Saturday and should seek shelter until the weather clears, soldiers said. A Winter storm warning was in effect across the park through 10:00 p.m. Sunday, and the National Weather Service forecast heavy and blowing snow in the area. Travel will be very difficult or impossible, the weather service wrote.
A historic storm has dropped record amounts of snow across Interior Alaska in recent days, according to the weather service.
A historic storm has produced record amounts of snow across the inland in the past few days. Here are some snowfall figures compiled from various sources. The range values show a number of several Spotter reports. #akwx pic.twitter.com/XOKOdMDoAK
– NWS Fairbanks (@NWSFairbanks) April 4, 2021
“The group is expected to pick up their planes at a later date and fly out when it is safe,” the soldiers wrote.
