Marc-André Leclerc of Squamish, British Columbia and his American friend George “Ryan” Johnson died while hiking a new on a mountain in Alaska, according to a Facebook post by Leclerc’s father.
The two were attempting a new route on the Mendenhall Towers, about 20 kilometres north of Juneau, Alaska. They posted a photo to Instagram from the top of the mountain on March 5. Alaska police said there was a “significant snow storm” in the area on March 7.
The climbers reached the summit of Mendenhall Towers, as evidenced by a post on Instagram.
Some gear found
The two did not return on March 7 as planned and neither had a satellite phone or emergency beacon.
During an initial search for them, some of their gear was found, but no sign of the men themselves. Efforts to find them were hampered by bad weather.
Serge Leclerc posted that two great climbers have been lost, including a son of whom is he really proud. Police are expected to release more information later.
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