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Climbing ranger injured in fall on Mt. Rainier


t_rutl

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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/49630757.html

 

MOUNT RAINIER -- A climbing ranger was injured while skiing down from Mt. Rainier's summit Wednesday afternoon.

 

Two rangers had reached the summit earlier in the day and were skiing back down to Camp Sherman when one punched through a hole in the snow and fell 40 feet into a crevasse, said Rainier Park spokesman Lee Taylor.

 

The ranger's partner was able pull him out of the crevasse with the help of two other guides on the same route.

 

Taylor says it appears the ranger suffered a leg injury. A rescue helicopter from Ranger Creek was heading up to the site to airlift the climber off the mountain and take him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

 

 

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glad to hear it was only a leg injury. Could easily have been worse.

 

I used to wonder about the things the rangers do like skiing and snowboarding the mountain and soloing in general. Given that it is a federal agency, I wonder if these actions will persist.

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I have nothing against the rangers and we all fully appreciate the work they do. Just seems wierd that the public needs a permit to solo the mountain while the rangers are free to, even in non rescue situations. Just hiprocritical and a bad example. As far as I can tell, skiing is not a requirement for the rangers to patrol the route or perform rescues. It is just fun.

 

I can understand the desire to climb unroped after doing the route hundreds of times.(not me, I was writing about the rangers) But time and precentages will catch up and the next time the outcome may be much worse. We all just have to respect the mountain and its dangers, public and rangers alike. The mountain don't care.

 

They will always have a job until people stop climbing the mountain. I think their funding ,partly at least, comes from the climbing permit fees.

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hum, although u make a point, that was not the case here, he was with another person, and there were severeal others around. also climbing up is the more phyiscaly demanding activity and good training, skiing down is not only fun but alot faster, so in fact they are saving money by getting off the mountain faster.

 

hope dude heals fast.

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I agree Gene. It shocks me that the NPS allows its employees to solo on the glacier, a very dangerous habit. I have spent a shit load of time on glaciers but will not submit to climbing unroped, or skiing for that matter, on Rainier.

Edited by danielpatricksmith
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It's really not so much of a case of allowing the rangers to solo, as it is sometimes requiring them to solo. Only so many rangers on the mountain at one time, and often times mountain patrols are assigned to a single ranger depending on the route.

This is the federal government.

 

As far as skiing goes, it is fun, and an efficient way down the mountain.

I'm not really commenting on the specific incident, just my 2cents on things in general.

 

Sounds like the ranger in this incident is going to be fine in the long run. Out for this season, but hopefully back to making the mountain a safer place in the future.

 

Cheers.

Jimbo

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They are still technically under the same solo guidelines as everybody else. If there is an accident which requires a ranger on the upper mountain, and there is only one ranger at Muir, then they might be able to get a quick solo permit, but technically they are have to have the permit.

 

Rangers are not required to be roped up on glaciers on the upper mountain though.

Edited by Maine-iac
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I seem to remember seeing in the Forest Service Health and Safety Handbook (obviously not the Park's edition) that glacial travel was covered under "hazardous duty" (along with active fire suppression and low level flight operations) and warranted 25% pay differential.

 

Edited by max
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needing a permit and not being required to rope up without a permit is contradictory. If a hundred guys walk up a glacier together and none of them are roped together, they are all "soloing" the glacier. If you are not required to rope up, then why need a permit?

 

Of course, things should slide when a rescue is involved as time is critical. But 2 rangers died some ten or 12 years ago trying to hustle to a rescue that wasn't that urgent. (a broken leg I think) They were roped up but conditions were bad that late in the year. The point is, in the percieved urgency required, they didn't look after their own safety and paid the price to the mountain that don't care about people. I would hope that all people, professional and recreationalist, on the hill look after their own safety all the time.

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The ironic bit is that a ranger threatened to give us a ticket for coming unroped down the Emmonds a few years ago, after climbing Lib Ridge. It's illegal to climb above Muir or Sherman without being roped (even though he agreed that most crevasse falls happen on the Interglacier, where it's NOT required to rope up.)

 

I hope it goes without saying, I wish him a speedy recovery.

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They are still technically under the same solo guidelines as everybody else. If there is an accident which requires a ranger on the upper mountain, and there is only one ranger at Muir, then they might be able to get a quick solo permit, but technically they are have to have the permit.

 

Ummm...BS

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Come on now, 90 percent of the slackers that slog up Rainier don't have a f-ing clue what they're doing. Damn right they should be on a rope team.

 

Most of the Rangers are obscenely familiar with the glaciers and crevasses on the mountain. While this doesn't completely preclude them from the dangers of that stuff, their qualifications are pretty damn high and I'd bet the stats on Ranger accidents while skiing on the mountain are a million to one. One ranger makes a mistake and we're talking about how they need to follow gumby's rules?

 

I was hit with a case of giardia in the mountains and while I thought I was passing gas, instead shit my pants. Logically, everyone who has spent time in the mountains must now wear a diaper!

 

Does Mike Gauthier waste his time on CC? I bet he could give some pretty definitive numbers.

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All of the climbing rangers on Rainier have solo permits - they are granted them at the beginning of the season.

 

Goodness; I hope so! If the rangers can't qualify for soloing, they probably shouldn't be rangers! :eveeel:

 

Nobody should be freaking out about this accident. Rangers aren't gods; they're people. And people have accidents. Accidentally. :wave:

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I was hit with a case of giardia in the mountains and while I thought I was passing gas, instead shit my pants. Logically, everyone who has spent time in the mountains must now wear a diaper!

 

 

I called MRNP today to confirm if this is true.

 

Said I, "Are we required to wear diapers on this mountain?"

 

To which the ranger replied, "depends...".

 

:whistle:

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You need a permit to solo on Rainier?

For effin' realz?? :shock:

 

Is this because there are so many non-climbers on that mountain or what? So if you are not roped up you can get a ticket??

 

Yeah man... they have these specially outfitted snowmobiles that are roped up on 14mm x 90m ropes with sirens and stuff.

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