Skier Dies in Avalanche on Denali, Marking Second Fatality of 2025 Climbing Season

Rescue Gully on Mt. McKinley where the avalanche took place on June 10, 2025. NPS Photo.

A skier died after triggering an avalanche that swept him over 1,500 feet down Denali, North America's tallest mountain, officials confirmed. The incident marks the second fatality in Denali National Park and Preserve during the 2025 climbing season.

Nicholas Vizzini, 29, of Washington state, and his climbing partner, a snowboarder, were descending the West Buttress route of the 20,310-foot peak when they triggered a soft slab avalanche at approximately 6:15 p.m. on June 10. The slide began at an elevation of about 16,600 feet and continued down to around 15,000 feet, according to the National Park Service.

Mountaineering rangers on an acclimatization climb nearby witnessed the event and responded within minutes. They found Vizzini’s partner on the surface of the avalanche debris and quickly initiated a beacon search. Vizzini was located buried beneath the snow.

“The rangers immediately began digging to establish an airway,” the National Park Service stated. “CPR was initiated but discontinued after forty minutes due to traumatic injuries and no pulse.”

Vizzini’s body was recovered and later transported to the state medical examiner’s office. His climbing partner sustained only minor injuries and was scheduled to leave the mountain the following day, June 11.

Denali's West Buttress route, where the avalanche occurred, is the most commonly used route for climbers on the mountain. The peak, formerly known as Mount McKinley, is located within Denali National Park and Preserve, which spans over six million acres in Alaska.

This incident follows a fatal fall earlier this season. On June 2, a 41-year-old climber from Seattle died after a 3,000-foot fall on the same West Buttress route.

“There have been approximately 13 avalanche-related deaths and more than 130 total fatalities on the mountain recorded in the history of the park,” the National Park Service reported. Currently, around 500 climbers are on Denali.

Falls remain the leading cause of death in the park. Since 1932, 125 climbers have died on Denali, including three in 2024. Along the West Buttress route alone, 15 climbers have died since 1980, according to park spokesperson Amber Smigiel.

Avalanche fatalities remain a significant threat to winter recreationists across the United States. According to the National Avalanche Center, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches nationwide each winter, most of whom are backcountry skiers, snowboarders, or snowmobilers.

From December 2024 to March 2025, 21 people died in avalanche incidents across the U.S., including several fatal events in Alaska, Utah, Oregon, and California. In March, a 16-year-old was killed in an avalanche in Chugach National Forest—Alaska’s fourth avalanche death that month. The same region saw three heli-skiers killed in a separate slide on March 4. Additional deadly avalanches occurred in Utah’s Uinta Mountains and in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges.