Rangers who keep an eye on North America’s highest mountain peak say impatient and inexperienced climbers are taking more risk this season. The rangers at Denali in Alaska say that puts the lives of those climbers and others in danger after a year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At 20,310 feet above sea level, Denali requires a level of expertise and acclimation to high altitudes not needed for climbing most peaks in the U.S. After no deaths in 2018 and 2019, at least two people have already died on the mountain in 2021. Two other people were seriously injured.
