Denali, Alaska
With over 7,000 square miles of primarily trackless terrain, Denali National Park is one of the less-developed parks in the national parks system.
It’s also home to the eponymous peak, the highest in our country, and an extreme mountaineering objective that has taken 127 lives since 1932. Denali is one of the most dangerous national parks in the US by its per-capita death rate.
That’s ten times more than the Great Smoky Mountains, which sees less than one fatal accident per million visitors. The National Park Service reports that exposure can destroy year-round in the subarctic and is the park’s leading cause of death, followed by falls.
But one cause of death that’s likely less common than you think? Bears! In all of its history, Denali has only recorded one fatal bear attack, a 49-year-old solo backpacker who was mauled to death in 2012.
3 Responses
Hello there
Thank you, your articles (statistics) are timely and very helpful. ❤
thank you this was very informative. this proves that research should be done before any type of adventure into the wilderness.