Stranded climber rescued in Yukon
37-year-old helicoptered off Mount Logan after weather, earthquakes left her trapped
WHITEHORSE— A solo climber who waited four days to be rescued from Canada’s highest mountain following two earthquakes in Yukon was too exhausted to say much beyond “thank you” to a crew that came for her, a helicopter pilot says.
Natalia Martinez, 37, was stranded on Monday, but poor weather meant she could not be plucked to safety until Thursday night, said Ian Pitchforth of Trans North Helicopters.
Pitchforth said Parks Canada had been communicating with Martinez on her satellite phone and called her to say a three-member crew would be rescuing her from a camp at Mount Logan in Kluane National Park and Reserve.
“She was packed and ready” when he landed his helicopter, Pitchforth said of the experienced climber from Argentina.
“She was pretty relieved,” he said from Haines Junction.
“She was happy to see us. We asked if she was in good health and she said ‘Yes.’ I tried not to bug her too much, you know, just let her relax a little bit.”
Pitchforth said a three-member Parks Canada team spoke with Martinez and checked her well-being, “but she was very quiet.”
Avalanche debris scattered around her camp and unstable terrain from the earthquakes stopped Martinez from continuing her climb or descending.
“The weather was pretty horrible for most of the week,” Pitchforth said, adding the forecast suggested Martinez was not expected to be rescued until Friday or Saturday.
But at 5 p.m. on Thursday, as he and Parks Canada staff were meeting to discuss a retrieval plan, they heard from another pilot that the weather was improving, Pitchforth said.
The area is a staging point for most climbing parties that head to the ice fields by ski plane.