Climber who died on McKinley was from Germany
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}National park officials say a climber who died in a fatal fall on Alaska's Mount McKinley was from Germany.
The National Park Service on Monday identified the climber as 49-year-old Steffen Machulka of Halle, Germany. Machulka fell more than 1,000 feet Friday on a section of trail where most climbers choose to use fixed lines.
Witnesses say he was trying to recover a backpack that had started to slide downhill when he fell. He was not roped to his two climbing partners.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At the time of the fall, Machulka was at about 16,200 feet in elevation after ascending a section of the West Buttress route. Mount McKinley is North America's highest mountain.
The fall was the first serious incident on McKinley during the 2012 mountaineering season.
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