Failure to submit any of the required documents/information will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents/information has been submitted. This is an excepted service appointment that does not confer competitive status. This is a temporary position not to exceed 1039 hours.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement 12/29/2025 unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. You must meet the following Selective Factors/Screen Outs. Candidates who do not meet these requirements AND support them in their applications, as described below, by close of this announcement (unless otherwise stated), will receive no further consideration for this position. Mountaineering and Climbing (screen out): You must have experience in high altitude mountaineering and technical climbing that includes having led or guided a minimum of two (2) mountaineering expeditions that reached 17,200 ft, or higher, one of which must have been on Denali (Mt. McKinley). This experience must have been gained as a guide, assistant guide, trip leader, or search and rescue member and cannot have been obtained by being a trip participant or client on a guided expedition. You must list previous climbs that you have led, and your climbing/mountaineering experience and altitudes reached in your application package, or you will be rated ineligible. -AND- Wilderness First Responder (WFR) or higher-level medication certification (screen out): You must have a Wilderness First Responder (WFR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Paramedic (EMTP), or higher-level, medical certification and training by entrance on duty. (If EMT/EMTP level, must be national registry.) Include a copy of your certificate showing the level and expiration date or list your medical certification AND expiration date in your resume, or the level AND date you anticipate completing your course for certification. Proof of certification will be required before entrance on duty. If you do not include this information in your application, you will be rated ineligible. -AND- Avalanche certification (screen out): You must have an Avalanche Professional Level 1, or higher-level, Avalanche certification and training by entrance on duty. Include a copy of your certificate showing the level and completion date or list your Avalanche certification level AND completion date in your resume, or the level AND date you anticipate completing your course for certification. Proof of certification will be required before entrance on duty. If you do not include this information in your application, you will be rated ineligible. -AND- ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Special knowledge or expertise concerning the park's or preserve's natural and/or cultural resources and the management thereof is required. Local knowledge of the resources and the typical conditions that affect the work to be accomplished will be applied in the performance of duties. -AND- To be eligible your resume must clearly show periods of time having lived or worked in or near the area of consideration. The area of consideration can be found in the below paragraph. Areas considered "near" the Talkeetna and Trapper Creek duty stations include: Big Lake, Cantwell, Chase, Chulitna, Curry, Denali Park, Farm Loop, Ferry, Healy, Kantishna, Knik, Lake Minchumina, Meadow Lakes, McKinley Village, Nenana, Nikolai, Palmer, Petersville, Sunshine, Talkeetna, Tanana, Telida, Trapper Creek, Wasilla, and Willow. -ALSO- The following are the competencies identified for this position. Applicants are not required to address these competencies in a separate document but are encouraged to include in their resumes experience related to these competencies. Skill in high-altitude mountaineering, alpine climbing, technical rock/ice climbing, and ski mountaineering. These may include (1) the ability to lead traditional routes of at least Grade IV, 5.9, WI 4; (2) the ability to travel over steep snow and ice; and (3) the ability to gain first-hand knowledge of technical routes on peaks. Ability to lead expeditions in remote wilderness environments and technical high-altitude glaciated alpine terrain. Knowledge and skill in mountain search and rescue techniques/procedures and the ability to perform in high-stress emergent situations. Knowledge of river travel techniques using pack-rafts and operating rafts, and of backcountry skiing and snow machine use, and the ability to survive in extremely remote terrain under adversely cold temperatures while performing park patrols.
The typical season for this position is mid-March through mid-August but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. The anticipated entry on duty is March 2026. If selected, you will work as a Park Ranger (Mountaineering), GS-0025-07, at Denali National Park and Preserve. Duties include but are not limited to the following: Regularly leads extended patrols, accompanied by trained Volunteers in Parks (VIP) in high altitude mountain terrain on Denali and other areas in the Alaska Range. Regularly performs or directs high-altitude technical climbing for search and rescue operations, coordination of multiple resources from numerous agencies and sources, coordination of helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, as well as including use of medical techniques. Enforce Park regulation by performing aerial and ground patrols in the backcountry. Winter and summer ground patrols require backpacking. Travel during winter conditions may involve use of skis, snow machine, or dog sled. Travel during summer conditions may involve small river craft such as pack-raft and operating rafts. Operates a visitor contact station and provides the general public information and interpretation of the park, provides expert advice and assistance to mountaineers entering the park from Talkeetna. Collaborates between the NPS, park concessionaires, and business use licensees. Provides input and feedback to supervisor regarding park operations, park needs, requirements, etc. in participation in the planning of district operations. Responsible for gathering, compiling, and reporting mountaineering and resource management data; maintains patrol reports and drafts responses to correspondences pertaining to mountaineering; investigates and prepares accident and incident reports. Please visit find a park for additional park information.