Mt. Rainier Hikers Rescued!

June 11, 2008

The two hikers trapped on Mt. Rainier have been rescued! I mentioned the ongoing rescue efforts in a post yesterday, but hadn’t come across an update till now.

It all began on Monday night when three hikers became disoriented at high-altitude on Mt. Rainier. The hikers were in the process of traversing the Muir Snowfield when they were hit with a late season blizzard. One of the climbers ended up dying during the ordeal, while two others had become trapped high on the peak.

All three hikers were experienced in climbing, with two of them successfully topping out on Rainier’s summit last year. The group included two males and a female. All three are from the Bellevue, Washington area.

From the Rescue Report today:

An Army Chinook helicopter rescued the man and woman at about 6:15 a.m. from Camp Muir, a staging area for climbers about 10,000 feet up the 14,410-foot volcano. Both were suffering from frostbite and hypothermia and taken by air to hospitals, said Kevin Bacher, a spokesman for Mount Rainier National Park.

The three apparently built a snow shelter at about 9,500 feet. The weather prevented an immediate rescue attempt after their call, Bacher said. The other male hiker left the married couple and battled through heavy snow to reach Camp Muir at 7:15 a.m. Tuesday and was able to direct rescuers to the other hikers near Anvil Rock, a large outcropping at the edge of the Muir snowfield.

The others were brought to a shelter at Camp Muir about an hour later, but the woman’s husband was unconscious and later died, Bacher said. He suffered from hypothermia and frostbite.

The helicopter from Fort Lewis took the survivors to Madigan Hospital at the Army base near Tacoma for treatment or transport to another hospital. Madigan spokeswoman Hyliejan Pressey said the two had frostbite but were walking and talking, and would be transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for further treatment.

To read more, Click HERE

Unfortunately, the lady’s husband died. This marked the first death on Mt. Rainier since December of last year when another dayhiker, Kirk Reiser, got caught up in an avalanche while snowshoeing. Two of the three is better than none at all. We know how these things can go, but let’s not forget that the lost hiker has a family and friends who are now suffering for their loss. Let’s keep them in our thoughts.

It is mentioned that on Mt. Rainier that Day hikers are not required to check in at the Warden’s office. With the last two fatal incidents coming from Day Hikers, perhaps it is time to change this policy. Also, one has to wonder if anything would have been different if they were carrying something like the SPOT Satellite Messenger. In this case, it probably would not have done much good. Weather became the leading factor in the rescue attempt and hampered authorities from reaching them sooner.

Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,