Day/date: August 9, 1988



                              RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                                 FIELD INCIDENT REPORT

Incident type: Probable Climbing Fatality
Log number: 88-176
Date/time of incident: 7/31        Date/time received: 8/9
Park: Denali                              Location: West Buttress
Reported by: Doug Cuillard, Denali
Received by: Bill Halainen, RAD, WASO

Incident Summary
On July 10th, 32-year-old I.M. of Barcelona, Spain, began a solo
ascent of the West Buttress route on Denali. He was scheduled to return
from this climb on the 28th. On the 24th, a Japanese climbing party met him
at 11,000' and later reported that he was very low on food and fuel. On the
25th, a guided climbing party reported a solo climber at 8,000'; this was
probably I.M., in search of food and fuel caches. On the 29th, another
guided party noticed single tracks ascending the Prow of the West Buttress
above Windy Corner at 13,200'. A search for I.M. was begun on the 31st.
No sign of him was found, and poor weather prevented further searching until
August 4th. At that time, extensive search efforts were begun from both a
fixed wing aircraft and helicopter. I.M.'s tracks were spotted and
followed along the 16,000' ridge, and his tent was found at 16,200'. His
pack was later located at 17,200'. I.M.'s tent contained a sleeping bag
and stove; his pack had fuel and food taken from a ranger rescue cache.
There were no signs of I.M. or his tracks at either location. Search
efforts concentrated on the upper West Buttress from 14,000' to the summit,
but were suspended on August 7th when no further traces of him could be
found. I.M. is presumed dead, and may have been a victim of either an
avalanche or a fall into a crevasse. He was one of a record 887 climbers on
the mountain this season, and was the second fatality this year.