ASHFORD, Wash. — Two climbers who were ascending Mount Rainier were rescued by helicopter Friday after they fell into a 80-foot crevasse, according to the National Park Service.
On Wednesday evening, the climbers called 911 to report that adverse weather had forced them to halt their ascent on the Kautz Glacier climbing route, but they did not request assistance.
The next morning at 7:30 a.m, they indicated that they were still mobile and planning to attempt a descent.
The man who had fallen was able to establish cellphone contact with Mount Rainier National Park dispatch and his climbing partner, but the climbers were unable to rescue themselves.
Three hours later, the climbers reported that one of them had fallen into a large crevasse and sustained arm and leg injuries.
The National Park Service says immediate rescue efforts were not possible due to terrain and weather conditions.
Early Friday morning, the USAR F Company 2-135th Chinook helicopter with the 304th Air Rescue Squadron out of Portland, Oregon attempted a rescue operation, but were unsuccessful due to heavy and erratic winds.
They returned several hours later to assess conditions and extricated the first climber, who had not fallen, from the glacier’s surface.
Later that afternoon, a National Park Service helicopter placed a team of four Mount Rainier National Park climbing rangers onto the mountain at 13,000 feet.
The team climbed down to the location of the second climber and rescued him from the crevasse he had fallen into.
He was then extracted from the glacier’s surface by helicopter.