Break in weather allows rescuers to resume Alaska search for B.C. climber

JUNEAU, Alaska — Rescuers in southwestern Alaska resumed their search of a mountain peak Tuesday for a missing British Columbia man and his climbing companion.

Megan Peters with the Alaska State Troopers says crews took advantage of favourable weather conditions and got back into the air to search for 24-year-old Marc-Andre Leclerc and 34-year-old Ryan Johnson. The pair were scaling the Mendenhall Towers north of Juneau last week but have not been heard from since they reached the summit of the 2,100-metre main tower.

The search began when they didn’t return by Wednesday, the same day a snowstorm hit the area. Peters says a snow assessment team was going to assess the risk of having searchers on the ground in the area before sending rescue crews out on foot. Members of Juneau Mountain Rescue are helping with the search and say they were hoping a break in the weather would let them get a better look at the north face of the main tower.