Climbing accident on Rainier?

[terrible_ted]

Hi:

 

I haven't posted here for quite a few years, but I just got a pretty disturbing phone call, involving a former co-worker.

 

Does anyone know of a serious accident on Rainier, possibly involving a fatality, within the last day? I can't find any media coverage (not that that's a bad thing...) but the news came from someone very credible, although not a member of the climbing community.

 

Thanks,

 

-t

[mle]

Looks like it's in the news now:

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Mount-Rainier-climber-feared-dead-99473089.html

[Fromage]

Yeah, the PI has a brief item on it. It identifies the location of the accident as the Edmonds Glacier, probably referring to the Emmons. Now that I read it again, I see a number of mistakes.

 

Seattle man killed in Mt. Rainier fall

 

By CHRIS GRYGIEL

SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

 

A 52-year-old Seattle man was killed after falling into large crevasse during a descent from the summit of Mount Rainier.

 

Lee F. Adams was part of a four-men crew descending the mountain on Edmonds Glacier Tuesday when the final person on the rope tripped and fell, said Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman Lee Taylor.

 

Taylor died on impact after tumbling into the crevassse. A second climber was injured; the two others were not harmed.

 

The three surviving climbers made their way out of the crevasse and were able to reach Camp Sherman at 9,000 feet.

 

Park rangers will inspect the scene of the accident Wednesday and determine when to retrieve Adams' body.

[terrible_ted]

It appears that bad news travels fast, indeed. I am very sorry to hear this.

 

Goodbye, Lee. You had a huge character that touched many people. Your boundless energy will be sorely missed.

 

-t

[pete_a]

i really don't want this to be true.... is this the Lee F Adams who's helped out with the Washington Alpine Club for years?

 

damnit...this sucks

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Wow, very sad! I met Lee a couple of times, and he was a super nice guy. This is terrible news.

 

My condolences to his family and friends.

[dennyt]

Lee was one of the best climbers I knew. You'll never meet a more humble, kind, funny person. He was a great storyteller, too. I'll never forget his account of a recent climbing trip with Beckey.

 

RIP buddy - you will be missed.

 

[Doug]

Condolences to family and friends.

[goatboy]

So sad, what a loss. Best wishes and condolences to all who knew him, climbed with him, or learned from him through the years.

[denalidave]

Condolences to the family and friends. Sounds like he will be dearly missed.

[zeroforhire]

wow. so sad to hear this.

 

Rest in peace.

 

My heart goes out to those who loved him most.

 

A sad day indeed.

[kukuzka1]

terrible news,not trying to take away from the tragedy but its another accident with being roped with no anchors in. just lucky more were not killed. ive done it many times but say i shouldnt.sorry to the family members

[RaisedByPikas]

Are you trying to say that climbing while roped up in crevassed terrain but with no anchors is wrong? If not you should probably just keep your mouth shut because you are stating the obvious...its another accident while mountaineering...duh. Or are you suggesting that at the very least a running belay is necessary when traveling above crevasses? Because thats not very practical

Edited July 29, 2010 by RaisedByPikas

[curtveld]

What a sad story.

 

Kukuzka and RBP, a separate thread would be a better place to analyze and debate the climbing decisions involved.

[kukuzka1]

Im just saying where a slip/fall would result in a uncontrolled fall then a running belay over that area would be practical. [though ive not done it many times]

[KaskadskyjKozak]

terrible news,not trying to take away from the tragedy but its another accident with being roped with no anchors in. just lucky more were not killed. ive done it many times but say i shouldnt.sorry to the family members

 

it depends on the terrain and conditions. and I assume you mean placing pro (pickets) not building anchors. If you anchored and belayed for every crevasse, you'd never get up half the glacier routes in the cascades.

 

my condolences to the family on this unfortunate tragedy

[kukuzka1]

true enough and no disrepect to the victim he sounds like he knew his stuff. its just something that could happen to anyone of us

[ScaredSilly]

Sad situation in deed. I heard that Lee may have well saved the other's lives as he was the last person on the rope and there was a long grove in the snow/ice from him trying to self arrest which undoubtedly slowed the others as they fell into the crevasse.

 

Having the most experienced person last on the rope is SOP when in a mixed group. So my hat is off to Lee and my condolences to his family and friends.

[summitchaserCJB]

I just skimmed this and saw some weird stuff so decided to post. People travel all the time without pro in on a rope team over glaciers. That is what a self-arrest is for. It isn't neccesarily wrong to not have pro while on a rope team on a glacier. Although pro like pickets would be nice, it isn't always practical to have a constant running belay for miles.

[summitchaserCJB]

Sorry to hear that this happened as well.

[kukuzka1]

most glacier traveling is in a variety of different terrain/conditions so like i said above if your in an area where you dont think you could hold a fall or self arrest[icy/steep] then its very practical to do a running belay until your on terrain that mellows out. and like i said above ive not done it many times even though i tell myself i will.but i dont know exactly what happend to lee so this is just a general senario.

[genepires]

similar situation happened to a canadian team on baker some 8 years ago. (+ or _ 3 years) A team was coming down the coleman deming just below the pumice ridge, when all fell into a crack. I believe it was late season and very icy. Last guy in was dead but the others were ok. Very sad and spooky. I think they had to spend the night in the crack before getting rescued by park personnel and AAI guides.

Edited August 1, 2010 by genepires

[jefffski]

I heard that Lee... was the last person on the rope...

Having the most experienced person last on the rope is SOP when in a mixed group. So my hat is off to Lee and my condolences to his family and friends.

 

Where did you read/learn that he was last on the rope? The article says that the person who tripped was the last person on the rope.

 

Is it SOP for guides to put three inexperienced climbers on the same rope?

 

I do not want to pass judgment, but is there a lesson we can learn from this tragedy? Perhaps a new thread is warranted for that discussion.

 

Condolences to the family and friends.

[RaisedByPikas]

Based on the notoriously incorrect articles it sounds like the final guy (I'm guessing that refers to the top guy bc the team was on decent) fell and unzipped the rest of the team. If thats the case then its very difficult for the next person to stop the fall should the person who fell be unable to arrest. It also sounds like Mr. Adams was the first on decent therefore last into the crevasse if the team was indeed unzipped from the top down.

 

Personally this fear is why I attach my ice axe to my harness. I hope that if I see or hear the leader fall that there will be enough time to plunge my axe in which will hopefully hold better than the standard arrest position. The trade off to this is that in an uncontrolled tumbling fall I will be unable to jettison my axe but by that point I would be pretty F'ed anyway.

[JasonG]

Hey Mods-

 

Please move the armchair quarterbacking to a separate thread. C'mon people!