The search in Alaska for a missing climber from Utah has all but stopped — except rangers, who routinely use a fix-wing plane to circle Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, will pay close attention for any signs of the 28-year-old man.
Jason Harper was last seen on May 4 when a pilot dropped him off to summit the 16,237-foot Mount Sanford. The pilot was to pick him up May 9, but Harper never showed up.
"The hopes of his survival have diminished greatly. I think his family is thinking of it that way," the national park's public information officer, Smitty Parratt, said, adding the family is "remembering him as a person that loved the mountains and a person doing what he loved."
Sunday was the National Park Service's fifth day looking for the man, who has lived in Idaho, Utah and Alaska. The search involved aircraft and helicopters.
People "already searched many times the area where Harper probably is; it seemed like we made a pretty complete effort to find him," Parratt said.
Helicopters were in the air early Sunday but had to stop searching because of high winds and the need to rush to an injured climber in Denali National Park & Preserve, Parratt said.
Harper's father and brother left the national park Sunday and were returning home to Utah, Parratt said.
Harper loved the outdoors. He aspired for years to receive international mountain guide credentials, which only about 20 U.S. residents have. He has guided mountain expeditions and backcountry skiers in Argentina and France, according to a National Park Service statement.
On Saturday, park rangers found a base camp they believe Harper established along the route. The shelter was made of snow and had partially collapsed.
Harper left behind food, a tent and a sleeping bag, which made searchers conclude he was attempting to climb Mount Sanford in one day, Parratt said.
"Not very many people can do it in one day. It is approximately 9,000 vertical feet," Parratt said.
The mountain is rock and ice, but throughout the summer months, a superficial layer of snow could melt and reveal what happened to Harper, Parratt said.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com