Alpinist Liepiņš says he would have tried to dissuade one of the Latvians who died on Denali

Experienced Latvian alpinist Kristaps Liepiņš said on Latvian Television's "1:1" program that two of the three Latvians who died on Denali in late May — Vija Olte and Renārs Kunigs-Salaks — had at different times studied the basics of mountaineering under his instruction. Liepiņš said he had no knowledge of the planned Denali expedition beforehand and was never told where, with whom, or when his former students were heading.

He said that had he known about the plans, he would have tried to persuade at least one of the deceased against making the climb, since her prior experience amounted to roughly three previously climbed mountains — in his view, not enough for such a serious high-altitude expedition. Liepiņš noted that conditions on Denali, including extreme cold, strong winds and high altitude, combine to exhaust climbers severely, which can become dangerous when paired with limited experience.

The alpinist said he has accumulated a long list of questions about what happened — covering how the team was assembled, how members' experience was assessed, rope-team composition, equipment choices, and the decision to attempt the summit on that particular day rather than later. He stressed that mountaineering is inherently dangerous by definition, and inexperienced climbers often fail to fully grasp the risks they take on, which is why proper training and gradually built experience matter. He added that certain issues, such as fear of jumping over crevasses or problems with coordination and balance, sometimes only become apparent once climbers are already in the high mountains.

Three Latvian climbers — Inese Pučeka, Vija Olte and Renārs Kunigs-Salaks — died in late May after falling from a steep slope on Denali, North America's highest peak. A fourth team member, Mārtiņš Bilzēns, survived the roughly 300-meter fall and was airlifted to a hospital in Anchorage in critical condition after more than 10 hours awaiting rescue in the cold. The remaining three expedition members were evacuated with rescuers' help, two of them suffering frostbite. The expedition's goal had been to reach Denali's 6,190-meter summit.