A 32-year-old Texas man died on Tuesday after he and another hiker fell from a trail high above Juneau, Alaska, and slid down a steep mountainside, the authorities said.
The man, Britain Pool, died from injuries he sustained in the fall, the Alaska State Troopers said in a statement on Wednesday. Mr. Pool’s companion, identified in the statement only as an adult man, sustained minor injuries.
The two men were in town as passengers on a cruise ship, according to the statement. The path they aimed to hike, the Mount Roberts trail, is a steep climb to the peak of the mountain. The trail, which features a series of switchbacks through a boreal forest, is characterized as “moderate” in a city guide, and it is a popular excursion that can be reached via a tram located near Juneau’s cruise ship terminal.
Tess Williams, a spokeswoman for the state troopers, said that the men had mistakenly followed a “false trail” that was not the Mount Roberts trail near the top of the tram. She also said that conditions were not ideal for hiking at the time of the accident.
“It was dark outside with dense fog and interspersed light rain,” Ms. Williams said. “The ground in the area was soggy and wet. It was extremely slick off the trail.”
Both men slid down the steep mountainside, but Mr. Pool slid farther. While the man who survived was found a quarter-mile down from the trail, Mr. Pool was found about 600 feet below that, Ms. Williams said. One of the men called 911 for help, she said. But by the time Mr. Pool was found, he had died of his injuries, according to the state troopers.
Juneau Mountain Rescue, a nonprofit volunteer team that led the search and rescue effort, used drones to locate Mr. Pool’s body, the state troopers said. Troopers and the rescue team recovered the body, which was taken to the state medical examiner’s office.
The rescue organization referred inquiries to the state troopers, but emphasized in an emailed statement “how important it is for anyone in the backcountry to make sure they have appropriate supplies or gear for the environment they are in, have notified someone about where they’re going and when they plan to return.” Hikers also should keep to “designated and marked paths and trails,” it said.
In June, another cruise ship passenger, a 62-year-old woman from Kentucky, was reported missing after she went hiking in Juneau in the same general area. Her body was recovered several days later.
Aishvarya Kavi works in the Washington bureau of The Times, helping to cover a variety of political and national news.
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