[pct-l] More on Mt. Rainier death

[RJ Lewis]

Lived at the base of Rainier for nearly 5 years....indeed it is very 
changeable- they say these type of mountains make their own weather. 
Another good reason to always make sure you are prepared when going out 
on adventures like this, especially in a year like this, with its 
unusual and wet weather patterns.

Heh, and folks laugh at me for always taking a 0F rated bag into the 
mountains.......

I'm very sorry for the folks who got caught out there on 
Rainier......what a sad day. :(

RJ

Dirk Rabdau wrote:
> As Ed noted, there was a death reported on Mt. Rainier as a result of a major front that passed through Western Washington Monday evening. The death came about ½ mile below Camp Muir, which is at 10,188 feet.
>
> The hikers had reportedly started the day at Paradise, which is at 5,400 feet and 4.6 miles from Muir. Paradise is on the road that winds through Rainier and is very popular because of its easy access to the snowfields and splendid views. On a summer weekend,  throngs of people can be found in the Paradise area. 
>
> Camp Muir is primarily an encampment for those climbing the mountain. Many climbers will hike from Paradise to Camp Muir, spend the night, and then awake in the wee hours of the morning to ascend the final 4,000 feet to the summit.
>
> Reportedly, all three people in the group had mountaineering experience. They were caught in a blizzard which dumped approximately two feet of snow at Mt. Rainier.  They may have dug a snow cave before one went for help.
>
> More can be found here:
> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004470168_rainier11m.html
>
> Here is the news story in the paper:
>
> One climber died on Mount Rainier Tuesday morning and two others were suffering severe hypothermia and frostbite after being caught in a blizzard that forced them to spend Monday night on the mountain.
> Because Army helicopters were unable to get enough of a break in the weather Tuesday to take the hypothermic climbers to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, they spent a second night on the mountain Tuesday night, said Kevin Bacher, a spokesman for Mount Rainier National Park.
> Weather on the mountain had started to improve by late Tuesday, but not enough to permit a helicopter to reach the site, Bacher said. He said that depending on conditions, a helicopter could be dispatched as early as 5 a.m. today to get the survivors to the hospital.
> Because of the extent of the survivors' injuries, rescuers didn't want to hike them down the mountain Tuesday because that would re-expose them to the cold, Bacher said.
> The three climbers — a doctor, his wife and another man in their early to mid-30s — all from Bellevue, were considered experienced mountaineers. They set off on a day hike on Monday and reached Camp Muir, which at 10,000 feet is the halfway point between Paradise and the summit.
> A fierce storm blew in as the trio were heading down the mountain on Monday. They made it to Anvil Rock on the Muir Snowfield, about a half-mile from Camp Muir, said Bacher.
> He said he thought the three may have built a snow cave for shelter. One of them called 911 from a cellphone but couldn't get through. They tried again around midnight, but the connection was so bad that a park ranger couldn't make out the information. The climbers were finally able to notify rangers that they needed help around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
> "We knew at midnight something was going on, but we weren't able to talk to them until 3:30," Bacher said.
> Even then, it was too dangerous to send rescuers to try to find the trio, who couldn't say exactly where they were because of the darkness and blinding snow, he said.
> Around 7:15 a.m., one of the climbers "made it up to Camp Muir through the blizzard and was able to lead our rangers and some guides down to the location where the other two [the husband and wife] were sheltered," Bacher said.
> Rescuers reached Anvil Rock within 15 minutes. But by then, the condition of one of the climbers "was grave," he said.
> "The doctor is the one who was in grave condition," Bacher said, though he couldn't confirm which of the climbers had died.
> By 8:30 a.m., all three climbers had been taken back to Camp Muir. The survivors — a man and a woman — were under the care of three doctors who were in a climbing party that had spent Monday night with their guides and park rangers at Camp Muir, Bacher said.
> On Monday, cloudy conditions on Mount Rainier deteriorated over the course of the day.
> "The weather can change quickly up there. This isn't the first time very experienced people have been caught off guard," he said. "Those conditions can overwhelm even the most-experienced and best-prepared climbers."
> The identities of the three hikers were not disclosed.
>
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