One of the climbers emerged from the snow cave, climbed into the baskets, and they were able to evacuate the surviving climber down to the Kehiltna base camp at 4,000 feet.

That is how Park Service spokesperson Paul Oleg describes the moments leading up to the rescue of one of the stranded Malaysian hikers.

Over the past few days, the rescue efforts have been hampered by strong winds and cloud cover, covering the top part of Denali.

Oleg says Thursday night around 10:00, conditions cleared, allowing a high altitude helicopter to drop off survival gear at 19,600 feet on Denali. Conditions were better Friday morning, and at 07:00 AM, a helicopter returned with a short haul rescue basket. The survivor said his partner died in the snow cave roughly two days prior.

You never conquer the mountain. In my perspective, you learn to conquer yourself.

Shon Swarner is the only cancer survivor to complete the Seven summits, conquering Denali in 2008. He recalls what it was like at 19,600 feet.

You got a stretch of a football field, then a pretty steep climb, and then you have the summit ridge reaching up to the top. So if you're up there and you're stuck, the weather comes in, you're really exposed.

Swarner says Denali is the coldest mountain he's summited, and there is little room for error.

You have to breathe, slow down, evaluate the situation, and start making proper decisions and proper choices. It sounds like they made the proper choice to either dig a snow cave or whatever it was. But oftentimes, I think, surviving two terminal cancers that I have, I think when your time's up, your time's up.

Time was not up for the survivor.

They were in surprisingly strong condition and walking on their own despite the ordeal that they had gone through.

That person is currently recovering at a hospital in Anchorage. Oleg says they are working with the Malaysian government to notify next of kin of the hiker who died. Died. John Thompson, Alaska's news source.

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