NEWSTIPS Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know there was an avalanche on Mt Rainier on Sunday afternoon. I don't have any details about exactly where it happened yet, but I do know that a pair of climbers were caught in it. One was able to dig out and call for help, but the other one is still unaccounted for. A rescue operation is launching at first light on Monday morning from Longmire. If I get more details, I will try to provide them. Be careful out there. Quote
NEWSTIPS Posted October 25, 2004 Author Posted October 25, 2004 BC-WA--MountRainierFatal 10-25 0132 BC-WA--Mount Rainier Fatal,120< One dead in avalanche on Mount Rainier< bcastfontk-o< ASHFORD, Wash. (AP) -- One climber died in an avalanche on Mount Rainier and a companion survived, an official said early Monday. A Mount Rainier National Park employee who would not identify himself said authorities were alerted by the companion, who also was caught by the slide about 1 p.m. PST Sunday but managed to dig himself free and seek help. The survivor told park rangers about 5 p.m. the avalanche caught the pair about 11,000 feet up the 14,411-foot mountain and east of Camp Muir, a widely used base camp by climbers on their way to the summit. Rangers hope to use a helicopter to retrieve the body later Monday, the park employee said. (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV 10-25-04 0657PDT< Quote
catbirdseat Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Can anyone comment on recent snowfall up on Rainier? Quote
ryland_moore Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Here's a more detailed story, although the climbers were not identified. story Sounds like it was more of a snow bridge collapsing than an avalanche as it sounds like they were in side the crevasses to negoatiate their path. Sorry to hear. My sympathy to friends and family. Quote
NEWSTIPS Posted October 25, 2004 Author Posted October 25, 2004 Can anyone comment on recent snowfall up on Rainier? They told us they were trying to complete the recovery operation before new snowfall began later today. I don't know about recent new snow, though. Quote
jonthomp Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Can anyone comment on recent snowfall up on Rainier? We skied up to Muir on Sat. where we chatted with other skiers and the two climbers involved in the accident while they chowed some freezedried calories. Sorry to hear of their misfortune. They seemed well-prepared and knowledgeable with a good game plan for this outing as well as the ones they had planned in the future leading up to Denali in the coming year. As far as snow, from about 8500' down it was snowing lightly in the morning and heavier in the afternoon. By the time we returned to the car, upward of 4" of new had fallen. Above 8500' the sun was shining and the wind was howling. With the latest storm that is supposed to move in, I would expect that all but the biggest rocks will be covered down low with significant amounts of windblown accumulations higher up. Quote
ski_photomatt Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Can anyone comment on recent snowfall up on Rainier? Telemetry shows some snow Thursday-Friday, then a few inches Saturday night (4"). We skied up to Muir yesterday and there wasn't a lot of new snow at all, a few inches. The mountain was sunny above about 9K yesterday with very light winds at Muir. The upper mountain had some new snow, hard to tell how much; climbing conditions looked good. Below the Muir snowfield we were consistently fracturing 5-6" deep wind packed slabs with ski cuts, but these were very isolated and of little concern. My condolences to the friends and family. Quote
ryland_moore Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 But, it doesn't appear that it was an avalanche. Did I read the story incorrectly? There doesn't even seem to be enough snow up there for one. It still appears to me that a snow bridge collapsed inside of a crevasse. Not an avalanche at all. No? Quote
David_Parker Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 I would say the press will use "avalanche" any time someone is burried in snow. A snow bridge collapsing may qualify as an avalanche. Arson is "willful destruction of property" and is not limited to fire although most people think such. My condolences to friends and family. I'm sure we'll know soon enough who it is and if any of us knew him. Quote
ski_photomatt Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 I wanted to avoid speculation and only say what I knew to be true, but since you asked: that's the way it seems from my office in Seattle. I was surprised to hear someone died in an avalanche yesterday because there didn't seem to be enough snow. A collapsing snow bridge is more likely. I wouldn't rule it out an avalanche completely - if I've learned one thing about the Cascades and Rainier it is that they are unpredictable. Enough of the wind loading we saw on a big enough slope could potentially bury someone, but it doesn't seem likely. Quote
tomtom Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=72073 October 25, 2004 One climber killed in avalanche, another digs himself out ASHFORD, Wash. - Mount Rainier rangers are trying to recover the body of an avalanche victim before a forecast snow storm arrives this afternoon. Park spokeswoman Patti Wold says a helicopter will take the rangers as close as possible to the scene of the avalanche on Ingraham glacier at about the 11,000-foot level of the 14,411-foot mountain. Wold says two men were climbing on the mountain over the weekend to practice for an attempt on Mount McKinley. She says they had walked down a snow ramp into a crevasse yesterday near Disappointment Cleaver. They were walking out on another ramp when it collapsed. Both men were buried. One was able to dig himself out and go for help. He is still at the park in good condition. Wold says the park will not identify the climbers until the family of the dead man is notified. Quote
cracked Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 Saying that 'there isn't enough snow to avalanche' is very very deceptive. I had a bad experience in September because of this sort of thinking. Quote
JERRY_SANCHEZ Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 ASHFORD, Wash. - Two climbers were buried in an avalanche on Mount Rainier over the weekend. One managed to dig himself out, but the second climber suffocated. The dead man was identified as 21-year-old Aaron Koester of Monroe. The survivor is 23-year-old Matt Little of Monroe. The accident happened early Sunday afternoon around on the southeast side of Mount Rainier. Park Service officials said they were experienced climbers who knew what they were doing, but unexpected conditions and events changed everything. Park rangers said the two climbers were on Mount Rainier to prepare for a climb on Mount McKinley in Alaska and were walking down a snow ramp into a crevasse near Disappointment Cleaver at the 11,000-ft. level when something triggered the avalanche. All of the snow and ice swamped the two men. One suffocated, the other one was buried to his head but was able to dig his way out. After that, he dug through the snow to pull out his friend’s body. “You really don’t hear about avalanches in crevasses all that often,” said Patti Wold, U.S. Park Service. “You don’t get that many people going in them. However, we have been getting snow on the mountain, so it is avalanche season now.” As the surviving climber made his way down the mountain to help, a radio he was carrying actually picked up the transmission from a hunter’s radio some 30 to 40 miles away. “He has what is called a free talk radio and he was listening to what was going on and he heard a hunter down in Natches,” said Wold. “He was able to contact the hunter on this radio who then called 9-1-1.” On average, three people die every year on the mountain. In early June, 40-year-old Jon Cahil, a firefighter from Auburn, Wash., fell more than 200 feet while climbing Liberty Ridge. He scaled Mount Rainier more than two dozen times. Two weeks before that in the same area, a National Guard crew saved 39-year-old Peter Cooley, but his injuries were just too severe and he died. The Park Service said the two climbers in this accident were also veterans who became victims of Rainier’s constant dangers. “The reason they were on the mountain was to train for a climb up Mount McKinley,” said Wold. “The decease climber actually summitted Mount Rainier earlier this year.” The two men had been climbing partners for the past year and a half. Park Rangers said they had just recently finished a five and a half-day climbing trip in which they summitted Mount Hood, Mount Shasta and Mount Whitney. A helicopter dropped three rangers on Mount Rainier Monday to recover Koester's body. Quote
ryland_moore Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 I never said definitively there wasn't enough snow. I said there didn't SEEM to be. Of course I would always dig a test pit and look at bonding before ever going into the backcountry if the area looked questionable or recent snow fall was there. All I am saying is that it seems that a little over four inches on most slopes is not enough weight to cause an avy. Wind slabs and loaded areas are different but also confined to specific areas. Are you an expert on backcountry travel all of a sudden after your two seasons of skiing? Definitively, you don't know until you go. Let's not turn this thread into a symantics issue on language. A Fallen brother of climbing is gone and it is a sad day. Quote
iain Posted October 25, 2004 Posted October 25, 2004 wow, now that's a terrain trap. and as for the snowfall, it's all about the wind. Quote
johndavidjr Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 I'm thick-headed, but were they hit by this year's snow or earlier: A snow ramp collapsed inside a crevasse. Small pockets of fresh snow can kill, but dis could suggest part of an old snow bridge or lip was involved. One shouldn't dwell on it much I suppose; sorry. -- Quote
scot'teryx Posted October 26, 2004 Posted October 26, 2004 There seemed to be quite a bit of new snow on the mountain yesterday. Saw their wands on the way up and the body recovery later that afternoon on our way down. RIP Quote
askypaintedblack Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 dude.. that was my best friend's cousin Quote
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