Thinker Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 This was published in the NPS Morning Report today: Mount Rainier National Park (WA) Search and Rescue The park received a report of two overdue climbers late on Sunday, February 16. Christopher McGinnis and Quang Than had planned on traveling to Camp Muir on Saturday, climbing to the summit of the mountain early on Sunday, then returning to the trailhead by dark the same day. Rangers and volunteers from two mountain rescue groups began searching for them on Tuesday. Two teams of climbers searched the Muir Snowfield, while others searched the route by helicopter during a brief period of clear weather. On Tuesday afternoon, two more hikers were reported overdue. Karen Arken and Bree Loewen had departed for Camp Muir on Saturday. Both pairs of climbers had been caught by poor weather late on Saturday. They joined forces, camping in shallow snow trenches at an elevation of 9,600 feet, then began their descent on Sunday in whiteout conditions. They strayed east of the Muir Snowfield onto Paradise Glacier, where they spent the next two nights in a snow cave at 7,200 feet waiting for weather and avalanche conditions to improve. They were drying their gear on Tuesday in preparation for a descent the next day when a backcountry skier came upon them. The skier contacted the park via cell phone, advising of the climbers’ location and condition. The climbers then followed the skier’s tracks back to Paradise, meeting rescuers while en route. Arken, who was suffering from frostbite, was taken to a hospital, but the other three climbers were in good condition. [submitted by Dave Ashe, Incident Commander] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 It helps to keep the words "lost", "missing", and "overdue" clear, as they are not the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloth_Man Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Now that I know they're not dead I can say that. Stupid fucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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