One of three climbers rescued by helicopter from Mount Logan last Thursday suffered severe frostbite, says the resource manager for Kluane National Park and Reserve.

Craig McKinnon explained Friday afternoon the climbers were all experienced.

They had climbed the technical East Ridge and reached the 19,551-foot summit on June 2, but where pinned down by weather for several days as they began their descent, he said.

McKinnon said wind speeds were reaching 160 kilometres an hour, and the climbers were forced to take refuge in a snow cave they’d constructed inside a crevasse at 17,300 feet.

In the first couple of days, they had attempted to move but didn’t get very far with zero visibility.

“One of the climbers ended up getting frostbite on his fingers, his face and his toes,” McKinnon said, adding the climber is expected to make a full recovery but may lose part of a finger.

McKinnon said the two Canadian climbers and one American are not the sort to cry wolf because of weather.

One of them has climbed Mount Everest six times and Mount Denali in Alaska 14 times, he pointed out.

But with one suffering frostbite and all three having prolonged exposure to high altitude, it was decided late Thursday to remove them by helicopter if the opportunity arose, and it did.

Initially, he said, the plan was to drop a bag of food and fuel from the helicopter, as the climbers were running low on supplies.

As the day went on and the window opened up for pilot Dion Parker of Trans North Helicopters, it was agreed by all if the opportunity arose, it should be used to take them off the mountain, McKinnon said.

He explained the Kluane National Park rescue centre had been contacted by a concerned family member who had talked with the climbers by satellite phone.

The call came in at 1 a.m. last Tuesday. Kluane staff notified the Parks Canada rescue service in Banff, Alta. along with the rescue centre at Mount Denali.

Denali dispatched a team of two climbers and a high-altitude helicopter to stand by on the Alaska side bordering the park.

Had the need arose, the Banff rescue team was prepared to be on Mount Logan on Friday with the assistance of Kluane rescue climbers, McKinnon said.

He said they were in contact with the climbers and expecting a break in the weather.

With the conditions, said McKinnon, the team couldn’t even fly into Logan, and had to wait at Burwash Landing with Parker and his A-star high-altitude helicopter.

When the window opened last Thursday afternoon, the Trans North pilot accompanied by a park ranger were able to reach the climbers and set down on a landing pad they had made.

The climber with frostbite was ferried down first to Logan Cabin, a base camp used by climbers for staging at the 6,000-foot level.

The two others were ferried down on the second trip and Parker took a third flight to recover all the climbing gear.

McKinnon said rescues above 17,000 feet are rare, and pose an elevated risk for both rescuers and climbers.

The climbers and rescue team were then flown from Logan Cabin back to Haines Junction with the assistance of the Denali chopper waiting on standby.

Clint Walker, Trans North’s operations manager, said Friday the rescue may be the highest on record by a Canadian helicopter.

On average, approximately 50 climbers attempt Mount Logan every spring. About half are successful.

Logan is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest in North America, next to Mount Denali at 20,237 feet.