Posts

Denali National Park Bridge Crew Ordered to Stop Flying American Flags

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The crew working on a 475-foot-long bridge in Alaska’s Denali National Park was recently told that they could no longer fly the American flag from their trucks or heavy equipment, which are being used in the $207 million Federal Highway Administration project.

The bridge is being built by Granite Construction, after a 2021 rockslide took out a portion of the popular Denali Park Road that is used by visitors and tour buses to access more remote areas of the national park.

Since 2023, construction has been underway to repair the road at mile 45. This spring two mobile trucks and one piece of heavy equipment had been flying standard-sized U.S. flags. . .

According to the contractor, Denali National Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell contacted the man overseeing the federal highways project, claiming there had been complaints about the U.S. flags, and notifying him that bridge workers must stop flying the stars and strips from their vehicles because it detracts from the “park experience.”

Merrell moved to Alaska in 2009 as a transportation planner and environmental coordinator. A Pennsylvania native, she received a master’s degree in urban planning. Prior to moving to Alaska, she worked for the City of Portland and the Gulf Islands National Seashore, along with left-leaning environmentalist and social justice groups such as DNA People’s Legal Services and Columbia Riverkeeper. (Read more from “Denali National Park Bridge Crew Ordered to Stop Flying American Flags” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

One Climber Dies, Another Critically Injured in 1,000-Foot Fall From Alaska Mountain

/0 Comments/in , /by

One mountain climber was killed and another was seriously injured Thursday night after plummeting an estimated 1,000 feet from Mt. Johnson’s 8,400-foot peak in Alaska’s Denali National Park, the National Park Service (NPS) said.

Due to adverse weather conditions, rescue teams were not able to reach the body of Robbi Mecus, 52, until the weather cleared Saturday morning, according to a statement by the NPS. The surviving climber — a 30-year-old California woman — was rescued and transporting by air ambulance to an Anchorage hospital Friday morning, the NPS stated.

The incident occurred on a portion of Mt. Johnson known as “the Escalator.” The two women were roped while climbing up terrain covered in a mix of rock, ice, and snow, the NPS said.

Another group of climbers witnessed the fall, notified park rangers and then climbed down to help the women, according to the NPS. The climbers reportedly confirmed Mecus was killed in the fall and gave first aid to the surviving climber. They tried to keep her warm until morning by digging a snow cave and attending “to the surviving climber’s injuries throughout the night,” the NPS stated.

Denali National Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell said, “We are grateful for the rescue efforts of Denali mountaineering rangers and the two good Samaritans on Mt. Johnson who helped save a fellow climber’s life. We extend our thoughts and condolences to the friends and family of Robbi Mecus.” (Read more from “One Climber Dies, Another Critically Injured in 1,000-Foot Fall From Alaska Mountain” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Melting Glaciers on Denali Will Unleash Tons of Human Poop

/0 Comments/in , /by

That’s the best advice for anyone climbing North America’s tallest mountain, Denali, which could be covered in 66 tons of poop as the glaciers melt away in the coming decades and perhaps much sooner — a process that’s speeding up thanks to climate change.

However, according to USA Today, for the first time, guide companies leading the 1,200 climbers who attempt the summit annually will voluntarily start to pack away and remove their human waste.

“Climbers and particularly guide services are really embracing the new policy and are even exceeding it. It has become kind of an informal badge of merit to carry off all your waste,” Michael Loso, a National Park Service glaciologist who’s been studying the problem of climber excrement on the mountain for close to a decade, told the newspaper. . .

USA Today reports that the frozen feces were first left in various snow pits on the Kahiltna glacier, but that over time the waste would resurface downstream on the glacier’s surface — where it would begin to melt. . .

“We have lost more glacier cover in the Alaskan national parks than there is area in the whole state of Rhode Island,” Loso told USA Today. “One of the consequences of warming temperatures is that the surface of the glacier is melting more quickly.” (Read more from “Melting Glaciers on Denali Will Unleash Tons of Human Poop” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Grizzly That Has Charged at People at Denali National Park Attacks Again, Officials Say

/0 Comments/in , /by

Park officials say a grizzly bear that has previously charged at people has bitten and scratched a hiker, and they will kill the animal when they find it.

Officials say the juvenile grizzly bear attacked a 28-year-old woman about 7 p.m. Friday while she was hiking on the Savage Alpine Trail in Denali National Park.

They say the woman was hiking with two other friends when the bear scratched and bit her and then walked away. When the bear came back, one of the three hikers threw rocks at it, causing the bear to run away. (Read more from “Grizzly That Has Charged at People at Denali National Park Attacks Again, Officials Say” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

White House Says Mount McKinley Will Be Renamed Denali

/6 Comments/in , /by

National Park Service handout photo shows Mount McKinley in AlaskaPresident Barack Obama says he’s changing the name of the tallest mountain in North America from Mount McKinley to Denali.

He’s giving the mountain its traditional Alaska Native name on the eve of a historic presidential visit to Alaska . . .

The mountain was named after former President William McKinley. There have been several efforts by Alaska politicians change it to Denali. But politicians from McKinley’s home state of Ohio have opposed changing the name. (Read more from “White House Says Mount McKinley Will Be Renamed Denali” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Gigantic Footprint in Denali Park Sheds Light on Prehistoric Alaska

/0 Comments/in /by

Photo credit: Anthony Fiorillo

A recent discovery of an enormous, ancient footprint in Denali National Park is being seen as another indication of how busy the Alaskan landscape was with prehistoric animals coming and going for seasonal food hunting. Anthony Fiorillo is the curator of earth sciences at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas. He says the first dinosaur print in Denali was found in 2005. He says that discovery, now on display at the Murie Science & Learning Center was the tip of the iceberg in terms of realizing how much dinosaur activity Denali once contained.

“Every year we’ve been going up there and every year we’ve been documenting dozens or hundreds of new localities. So at this point it’s safe to say that Denali national park actually has thousands of dinosaur foot prints throughout part of the park,” Fiorillo said.

Fiorillo says the new find, a Therizinosaur track was beyond Fang Mountain.

“Once you cross the sanctuary river and looked to the south side of the road, you would be looking all the way out to Toklat camp and even a little bit beyond that, you would be driving through some of the best dinosaur country, anywhere,” Fiorillo said.

Fiorillo says the feathered Therizinosaur was related to both Tyranasaurus rex and the chickadee, with four forward facing toes and peg like teeth suited for chomping vegetation.

Read more from this story HERE.

First fatal bear mauling in history of Denali National Park

/0 Comments/in /by

Photo credit: Marshmallow

A grizzly attacked and killed a lone backpacker in Denali National Park and Preserve on Friday after the man encountered the bear next to a river and lingered there snapping pictures, according to the National Park Service.

The death is the first fatal bear mauling in Alaska in seven years and the only one in the 6-million-acre park’s recorded history, going back more than 90 years, the Park Service said.

“It’s an extremely rare event, and it’s not common that we even have injuries related to bears,” said park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin. “We don’t see a lot, and we think some of that is due to our education.”

But the man — identified late Saturday as 49-year-old San Diego, Calif., resident Richard White — apparently ignored key parts of that education, which the Park Service says he received prior to heading into the Denali wilderness, in part of the park where there are no trails. Photos on White’s camera showed he stayed near the bear, instead of leaving the area, as required by his permit, park officials said.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers assisting park rangers shot a large male grizzly Saturday believed to have killed White and cached his body the day before, the Park Service said. The rangers had been unable to recover White’s remains for more than 24 hours, but retrieved him late Saturday, a park spokeswoman said.

Read more from this story HERE.