David Paisley, 38, a Colorado guide and experienced mountaineer, died on May 31, 2000, during a descent from the 16,421-foot summit of Mount Bona in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. While leading two clients across a glacier he fell an estimated 75 to 135 feet into a deep crevasse and was then buried by collapsing snow and ice. His clients anchored the rope and returned to base camp for help.

A second guided party found the anchored rope and a note left by the clients; one member of that party fell through fragile snow into the crevasse but was extricated uninjured and could see Paisley’s rope disappearing into the snow and ice. Conditions were judged too dangerous to attempt a body recovery, a decision supported by the Alaska State Troopers, National Park Service rangers, and Paisley’s wife, who was also an experienced mountaineer. His body was never recovered.

Paisley’s colleagues remembered him as a cautious, professional guide and careful practitioner of risk management.