Teams searching for 2 missing climbers in Alaska find "boot tracks leading" to avalanche

The search continues for two climbers who went missing at the top of a mountain in an Alaska national park. 

Rangers are searching for 34-year-old Eli Michel and Nafiun Awal, 32, who officials believe likely fell while climbing Moose's Tooth, a 10,300-foot mountain near the Ruth Gorge in Denali National Park and Preserve, on Friday, May 5, the National Parks Service said in a news release. 

Search efforts began on Sunday, May 7, after a friend contacted rangers after noticing that the climbers had not checked back on their handheld satellite communicator following their climb, officials said. 

Two flight missions totaling nearly 8 hours were conducted on Sunday and Monday, according to officials. 

"On both days, ground searches of the heavily-crevassed glacier at the base of the peak were conducted by a mountaineering ranger harnessed to the end of a helicopter short-haul rope," officials said. 

Rangers were able to find the pair's vacant tent site with ski and boot tracks leading up into a small slab avalanche near the top of the West Ridge route. They also found several pieces of the climbers' equipment, including two ice axes and a climbing helmet, that were seen along the 3,200-foot fall line, officials said. 

The aerial search is on hold for Tuesday due to low visibility and snowfall but will continue with a focus on the base of the fall line, officials said. 

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