More on the Mount McKinley Air Force

Remember the solo climber who allegedly told people he was going to try paragliding off of Mount McKinley's summit and then seemed extremely ill-prepared to make it to the top? After authorities took him off the mountain and handed him over to mental health professionals, he remained anonymous even after being released from care. His name has now been made public. Andrew Randolph spoke to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner to give his side of the story, and said he feels discriminated against because he was climbing solo. He also claims that he didn't intend to paraglide from the summit, that he instead planned to cache his rig at high camp and only use it if he faced a life-or-death situation. "Taking a paraglider up to the summit is absolutely ridiculous. That wasn't the idea," the 25-year-old climber said via telephone from Pennsylvania, where he lives. Regardless, the National Park Service is considering seekin reimbursement for "tens of thousands" of dollars Randolph's rescue cost. Read much more, here. And be sure to read Alaska Dispatch's own Craig Medred's earlier report about the climber's evacuation, here.