By Daily Press staff
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Utah man attempting a solo climb of Mount Sanford did not return to a designated rendezvous point, and searchers have found no trace of him.
Jason Harper, 28, set out May 4 to climb the 16,237-foot peak in Wrangell- St. Elias National Park, National Park Service spokesman Smitty Parratt said.
For the past two days, searchers in airplanes and an infrared radar-equipped Air National Guard helicopter have traced the route Harper was supposed to take and an alternate route, but have not located Harper.
Harper was carrying about 40 pounds of food, skis and climbing gear, but no tent, Parratt said. He was dropped off at 3,000 feet on the mountain, 20 miles northwest of the summit, at an area known as Windy Ridge.
Harper planned to climb Sheep Glacier to the summit and return in five days. Parratt said most climbers start earlier in the year and take seven to 11 days on the same route.
Pilot Harley McMahan, of the Gakona-based McMahan Guide and Flying Service, told Park Service officials that he was to pick up Harper last Sunday.
Harper did not appear at the rendezvous, McMahan said. After searching the area, both on foot and then in his airplane, and seeing no sign of the climber, McMahan thought Harper might have misunderstood the rendezvous date.
But by Wednesday, recalling how little food and gear Harper carried, McMahan notified the Park Service that the climber was overdue, said his daughter, Rebecca McMahan.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 15, 2004. Read the original PDF.