An avalanche swept two men to their deaths in Denali National Park, just a day after two climbers were killed there in a 1,900-foot fall, park officials said Sunday.
The pair from Utah were pulled to the base of 7,650-foot Mount Barille, where they were found amid snow and chunks of ice by rescue personnel late Friday, park spokeswoman Kris Fister said.
The torrent of snow carried Andre Callari, 33, of Salt Lake City and Brian Postlethwait, 32, of Park City 1,500 to 2,000 feet down the mountain, park rangers estimated.
Word of the two fatalities came shortly after news that another pair of climbers, both experts from Washington state, had fallen to their deaths Thursday night while descending 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America. High winds prevented the park's mountaineering rangers from recovering those bodies until Saturday.
The park has seen five mountaineering deaths since last month, the start of a season that tapers off by early July.
"We're getting off to a difficult start, and the climbing season has just begun," Fister said.
Since 1996, 28 climbers have died in the park, 13 while attempting Mount McKinley, she said.