NJ Climber Dies After Collapsing Near Summit Of Alaska's Denali

TALKEETNA, AK — A New Jersey climber died Friday evening while trying to summit Alaska's Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, officials said.

Fernando Birman, 48, of Stockton, collapsed at an elevation of about 19,700 feet, the National Park Service said in a news release. Denali's peak is North America's highest elevation at about 20,310 feet.

Mountain guides tried to revive Birman with CPR around 5:45 p.m. Friday. He never regained a pulse and died at the scene. His exact cause of death wasn't immediately known but is consistent with sudden cardiac arrest, the park service said.

Mountain guides used a short-haul basket to help recover Birman's body from a 19,500-foot plateau known as the Football Field. His body was taken to the Alaska medical examiner Friday night.

Birman's death marks at least the third climber to die on the mountain this year.

A 43-year-old climber from Kanagawa, Japan, was not roped to his teammates when he fell May 17 through a weak ice bridge near their camp. The fall happened at about 8,000 feet on the southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, the park service said. He was presumed dead based on how much ice collapsed, how far he fell, and how long he was buried, officials said.

The park said it recovered the body of Matthias Rimml, an Austrian solo climber, on May 17. Rimml died after beginning his climb April 27. He called a friend April 30 and said he was tired but not in distress, officials said. His body was recovered using a long-line helicopter operation.