<\/a>Clarise Larson \/ Juneau Empire \n Clouds pass by near the Mendenhall Towers early Tuesday evening.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
This week marks five years since Ryan Johnson of Juneau and Marc-Andre Leclerc of British Columbia were reported missing after summiting the north face of the main tower.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
During the initial six-day search for the men in 2018, rescuers only found the pair’s anchor rope on the fourth tower and two climbing ropes in a crevasse midway down the tower. They were presumed dead shortly after the search, and to this day, their bodies have never been found.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Ryan was 35, and Marc-Andre was 25.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
According to Jackie Ebert, operations chief for Juneau Mountain Rescue who ran the operations of the initial search effort, the search is now considered to be a limited continuous suspended search until new information is found.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Ebert said since the initial search there have been no reported sightings of possible new information. She said it’s difficult to say if or when a recovery could happen due to the dynamic nature of location.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“There’s really nothing more that we can go off of at this point,” she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Born in Juneau, Ryan was known across the Juneau and Alaska climbing communities for his knowledge of Juneau’s peaks and icefield, and his many first ascents on the Mendenhall Towers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Marc-Andre was also an acclaimed climber, known for his solo ascents of staggering mountains across the globe and posthumously was the center of a documentary released in 2021 titled “The Alpinist” that outlined his free-spirited way of life and extraordinary ascents.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The impact of the pair’s disappearance and deaths rippled far beyond Juneau — and Alaska. It reverberated across the country and the globe as the climbing community and those who cared for them mourned the loss of two people described as extraordinary athletes and humans.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Ruth said Ryan was always outside filling his days with adventures and filling others around him with joy. He loved what he did and who he surrounded himself with, she said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“I always tell people that Ryan was born happy. He was just always a loving, supportive, happy little dude from the time he was tiny,” she said. “He wasn’t one to document all his first ascents, he celebrated other people’s successes more than his own, that’s just who he was.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Ruth said the five years since his death has flown by, but the impact of his absence remains ever-present. She said she finds comfort in knowing his legacy lives on through his son, Milo, who she said is already shaping into quite an adventurer at just 7 years old. She also expressed her gratitude for the support her family has received from the community throughout the past five years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t