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Five mountaineers have died on the treacherous peaks of Denali National Park this season, with four of those deaths occurring over the last week, park officials said Sunday.

"We're getting off to a difficult start, and the climbing season has just begun," said park spokeswoman Kris Fister. The climbing season starts in late April and tapers off by early July, Fister said.

Andre Callari, 33, of Salt Lake City, and Brian Postlethwait, 32, of Park City, Utah, were the latest to be identified in the series of fatalities in the Alaska Range on routes that range from moderate to highly technical.

An avalanche swept the men to the base of 7,650-foot Mt. Barille, where they were found amid snow and chunks of ice by rescue personnel late Friday, Fister said.

Word of the two fatalities came shortly after news that another pair of climbers, both experts from Washington state, had fallen to their deaths while descending 20,320-foot Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America.

Mizuki Takahashi, 36, died shortly after falling 1,900 feet Thursday night from a point near a challenging route called the West Rib. Her climbing partner, 27-year-old Brian Massey, remained unconscious throughout the evening and died Friday. High winds prevented the park's mountaineering rangers from recovering the bodies until Saturday.

Last month, 38-year-old Lara-Karena Kellogg of Seattle, a highly experienced climber, died while rappelling down 8,100-foot Mt. Wake. The mountain is far smaller than McKinley, but is considered a peak that only top climbers should attempt.

Since 1996, 28 climbers have died in the park, 13 while attempting Mt. McKinley, Fister said.

Fister said many people tended to underestimate the Alaska Range because they've climbed higher peaks in other parts of the world. "The far north location and the two weather systems that slam into the range make things a little more complicated," she said. "That's in spite of the fact that the elevations may not be as high as what some mountaineers have experienced."

The park began requiring registration and fees of $200 from climbers who attempt Mt. McKinley and Mt. Foraker, the two highest peaks in the park, after a disastrous 1992 season. A record 13 climbers died that year.