Fernando Birman, 48, was near the summit of Denali in Talkeetna, Alaska when he collapsed at 19,700 feet on the evening of Friday, June 3, according to the National Park Service.
Birman, of Stockton, was pronounced dead at the scene despite mountain guides’ attempts to revive him with CPR.
Birman was just over 600 feet away from the peak of Denali — North America’s highest mountain — when he collapsed.
His body was recovered from a 19,500-foot plateau with a short-haul basket and taken to the state's medical examiner later that night.
Birman’s official cause of death has not been determined but is consistent with sudden onset cardiac arrest, NPS says.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Paterson and receive free news updates.