B.C.'s mountain-climbing community is in mourning with the news that one of its best has perished in Alaska.

Marc-Andre Leclerc of Squamish was on a climbing expedition at Mendenhall Towers near Juneau earlier his month with Alaska resident Ryan Johnson.

They reached the summit but weren't heard from since March 5. A major storm hit the area on March 7.

Leclerc's father, Serge Leclerc, has written on Facebook that they did not survive.

"Thank you for the support during this difficult time," Serge Leclerc wrote. "My heart is so broken...Part of me is gone with him..."

He asked for a time of privacy, saying his son "was an amazing, loving man and he has touched many lives in so many ways".

"He will be remembered and loved forever."