A three-day search for a Utah man missing in the Alaska wilderness offered a glimmer of hope Saturday when a search team discovered a cache of the man's possessions near the main climbing route to the summit of Mount Sanford.
Jason Harper, 28, has been missing since May 9 when he failed to rendezvous with a pilot who had dropped him at Windy Ridge, a slope 20 miles northwest of the summit, five days earlier. Harper, who is an experienced climber, was attempting a solo summit of the 16,237-foot peak in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, park service chief interpreter Smitty Parratt said.
Park authorities and other Alaska state and local public safety entities launched an official search and rescue operation for the man Wednesday, the same day Harper was supposed to catch a plane to visit his parents, who live in Salt Lake City.
The discovery of the cache, which included Harper's wallet, was at least an indication that search crews have been looking for the man on the right section of the mountain, Parratt said. A search team discovered the items just as they were winding down the rescue effort Saturday.
"It looked like he was setting himself up for a shoot to the summit from there," Parratt said. "It's a tricky little section with a lot of icefalls and crevices. It's a very remote area, a person's really on their own."
Two three-person climbing parties planned to spend Saturday night on the mountain and resume the search early today, he said.
Rescuers have been using two infrared radar-equipped helicopters, including a LAMA high-altitude ship used for resources on Denali, and several fixed-wing aircraft to search for the man from the air.
"I would say (today) would be our last big day unless something comes up that reinvigorates the search," said Parratt, adding that some of the resources being used in the search are needed elsewhere in the state.
Harper's father, Doug Harper, and his brother, Doug Harper Jr., have been assisting in the search since Thursday, Parratt said. Jason Harper was raised in Boise and lived in Salt Lake City but spent the last two winters in Valdez, Alaska, his father told authorities. Harper climbed frequently in Alaska since 1998, spending five weeks in the Wrangell Mountains in 2000, Parratt said.
Harper was carrying about 40 pounds of food, skis and climbing gear but no tent, Parratt said. Weather on the mountain has been mostly clear with calm winds in recent days, which improve Harper's chances for survival. However, nighttime temperatures are well below freezing, and the area is extremely treacherous because of the number of ice crevices and large rivers that are difficult to cross.
"The hopes seem to be wavering because it's been so long and because of finding a cache that he undoubtedly would have picked up on his way back (from the summit) but didn't," Parratt said. "It doesn't look real good, but he could surprise us all and pop up far away."
Contributing: Associated Press
E-mail: jdobner@desnews.com