7Th Climber In Week Dies On Mt. Mckinley

ANCHORAGE - An expedition leader descending Mount McKinley while roped to two clients plunged to his death yesterday, the National Park Service said.

It was the seventh death in seven days involving mountaineers on the 20,320-foot peak, North America's tallest.

The Park Service said Terrance "Mugs" Stump, 41, of Sandy, Utah, was presumed dead after he fell into a crevasse when the snow beneath his feet gave way at 14,400 feet.

The accident happened on a route known as the South Buttress.

John Quinley, a Park Service spokesman in Anchorage, said Stump, a veteran McKinley guide, was descending with two clients from California when the man in front was uncertain about the route and Stump came from behind to check.

Quinley said the snow gave way.