A Utah climber has been banned from climbing Denali and fined $10,000 after making misleading calls in attempts to be rescued off a dangerous section of North America’s tallest peak.
Dr. Jason Lance, 48, was given the penalty Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott A. Oravec, after pleading guilty to violating a lawful order during an accident investigation into the 2021 incident.
The release said Lance used the InReach device to message rescue crews, but embellished details of their situation, saying the climbers did not have proper equipment to get down and that two other climbers were suffering from shock. The release said one of the climbers testified that no climbers were suffering from shock at the time. Ultimately, Lance and the other climbers made it back down to high camp at 17,200 feet under their own power, then returned to the 14,200-foot camp.
The release said that at the 14,200 camp, Erickson then asked Lance to turn over his partner’s InReach, but Lance initially refused, then engaged in activity that Erickson said appeared to be attempts to delete messages on the device. A later investigation confirmed those reported suspicions from Erickson.
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