Story at a glance
- The Anchorage Daily News reports the group landed on Ruth Glacier on the southeast side of Denali National Park Friday.
- But as a large storm moved into the area, the group could not fly off the glacier and was forced to spend the night in the airplanes at about 4,500 feet.
- Outdoor guides reached the group and helped them ski to a cabin to seek shelter more than 3 miles away.
Five people that were stranded on a glacier in Alaska this weekend due to a massive snow storm are alive after skiing through the blizzard to safety.
The Anchorage Daily News reports the group landed on Ruth Glacier on the southeast side of Denali National Park Friday in three separate small planes. The glacier is one of the largest in the national park and attracts frequent airplane tours.
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But as a large storm moved into the area, the group could not fly off the glacier and was forced to spend the night in the airplanes at about 4,500 feet.
On Saturday, the group learned the weather conditions were not expected to improve any time soon and requested a rescue as they realized they didn’t have enough supplies to ride out the blizzard.
The rescue included the help of outdoor guides hired by the park service who work at the Sheldon Chalet, about 3-1/2 miles away from the stranded group. The guides made their way toward the five individuals and brought skis and harnesses and roped up with the group to guide them to the cabin through the storm.
The group took shelter at the chalet through Sunday as the storm dropped record amounts of snow throughout interior Alaska.
No injuries were reported among any individuals among the group.
“It’s certainly not the first time that an aircraft got stranded in the mountains when weather came in quickly and it won’t be the last,” Maureen Gualtieri, a spokesperson for Denali National Park, told Anchorage Daily News.
“But these pilots made the right call to not attempt to fly out when the weather was coming in, so we’re just grateful that everyone’s safe and in good spirits,” Gualtieri said.
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