sobo Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Just got the page a half hour ago to head up tomorrow. Dammit, tomorrow is the first chargeable time I've had since before Christmas. And here I was sitting on my ass all last week and this past weekend... Here's hoping that they're still holed up somewhere and staying hydrated... Be careful up there. Sorry, C, a bit of a misunderstanding there. I've been so short of hours of late that I need the cash pretty badly. So I ain't going up tomorrow, but headed to the office instead. And here I sat around all weekend doing nothing before the call came in tonight... Quote
Sagebrusher Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Because the Himalayas are near the Equator, the air pressure of the atmosphere is greater; the atmosphere is thicker at the Equator than at the poles. K2 is not near the equator, it is at the same latitude as Mt. Whitney. (36 degrees North) Quote
Mtguide Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 I still haven't heard which route the two climbers were supposed to be on--did they register at Paradise? Quote
cdmike112 Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) From what I have heard, they were on the DC. Edited January 23, 2012 by cdmike112 Quote
cms829 Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Anyone know their last known location? Or was it Paradise before heading up? Hows the weather today? Quote
Sagebrusher Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Anyone know their last known location? Or was it Paradise before heading up? Hows the weather today? They have a short window of oppurtunity, forecast for 11,000 feet on the south side... Today: Partly sunny and cold, with a high near 4. West southwest wind around 5 mph. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 1. South southwest wind between 5 and 11 mph. Tuesday: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 21. Breezy, with a south southwest wind between 18 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 11 to 17 inches possible. Tuesday Night: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 6. Breezy, with a west southwest wind between 17 and 23 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible. Wednesday: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 14. West southwest wind between 11 and 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 10 to 16 inches possible. Wednesday Night: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 10. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 23 to 29 inches possible. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=46.83952837681947&lon=-121.77108764648438&site=sew&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text Quote
nhluhr Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Because the Himalayas are near the Equator, the air pressure of the atmosphere is greater; the atmosphere is thicker at the Equator than at the poles. K2 is not near the equator, it is at the same latitude as Mt. Whitney. (36 degrees North) and Adams is not 100miles from Hood, and native folklore refers to them as brothers, noth sisters too, but who wants to check facts with a post like that? Quote
nhluhr Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Get Your Bearings This thing has gotten harder and harder to find on NPS/MRNP's website. It should be printed out and available to all at the camping/climbing permit stations. It's also missing a couple hazards like the Sarlacc pit near McClure Rock. Edited January 23, 2012 by nhluhr Quote
sobo Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Yes it has, indeed. But I found it by googling "Mt. Rainier get your bearings" and it comes up as the second hit in a PDF. Before it was updated (in October 2011) it was just called "Get Your Bearings" and was only a one page map with compass bearings and GPS coords (skipped all the John Muir and "do nots" crap on what is now the first page). Now that you've "found" it again, just download it and save it to your hard drive. My work here is done... Quote
sobo Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) Bookmark this MRNP link to check back for daily updates on the search. It appears that news releases are posted a day after the actual events. Still hoping for a positive outcome for all four, and their rescuers. Search Efforts Continue for Overdue Parties on Mount Rainier Date: January 22, 2012 Contact: Patti Wold, PIO, 360-569-6701 The search for two overdue parties continues on Mount Rainier. On Sunday, January 22, a small improvement in the week's severe weather allowed ground teams to conduct visual searches of terrain previously obscured by weather. A US Army Reserve Chinook launched but turned back due to limited visibility. The helicopter remains on standby at Joint Base Lewis McChord. No sign of the missing parties has been detected to date. The search effort will continue on Monday, dependent on weather and avalanche conditions. In the event a weather window materializes on Monday, the Chinook and a Washington State Patrol fixed-wing are prepared to respond. Over the last week ground teams have encountered 30-60+ mph winds, white out conditions, ice crusted snow, and snow depths 10' to 15' with drifts up to 50'. Searchers are highly skilled mountaineers who are familiar with the party's intended route and in mitigating avalanche danger in the area. There are two teams of overdue parties currently on the mountain. A party of two, Mark Vucich, 37, of San Diego, CA and Michelle Trojanowski, 30, of Atlanta, GA, planning to winter camp on the Muir Snowfield over the weekend was due out on Sunday, January 15. A second party of two climbers, Sork (Eric) Yang, 52, of Springfield, OR, and Seol Hee Jin, 52, from Korea, on a summit attempt via the Disappointment Cleaver route was due back Monday January 16th. The weather forecast calls for snow, 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures and winds up to 65 mph through Monday. Mount Rainier and Denali climbing rangers, personnel from the National Park Service Pacific West, Intermountain and Alaskan regions, guides from Rainier Mountaineering Incorporated and International Mountain Guides, and Olympic, Tacoma, Everett, and Seattle Mountain Rescue are contributing to search operations. -NPS- Edited January 24, 2012 by sobo Quote
CascadeClimber Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 They towed the car out of the lot tonight. Seems like if they were ambulatory, they'd have stuck their heads up today- clear skies, relatively low wind, three aircraft flying low and making noise, on top of 40ish SAR folks. It's been a shitty month at MORA. Quote
sobo Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 Why would they tow the car? They're not down yet, and they've certainly not been declared deceased, either. BTW, there are two parties. You mention one car... Still pulling for these guys... Quote
CascadeClimber Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) I don't know, but it was towed. It was the car in the upper lot, which was visible on one of the webcams. Unless things have changed, this is not the overnight lot. In the past, overnight winter users have been asked to park in the lower area of what used to be the JVC lot. There may well still be (or have been) a car there, but it's not visible on any of the cameras. http://i.imgur.com/vvwSI.jpg Edited January 24, 2012 by CascadeClimber Quote
Whatcomboy Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 No news except big storm brewing and Park has scaled back search efforts. Still hoping... Quote
Mtguide Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) AP reports that Rainier Park officials are handing out fliers to visitors asking them to report any physical evidence (but not tracks--which could be confusing)of the missing climbers and campers. The search is termed "no longer active", though several park employees were to have searched the Muir snowfield yesterday, Sat.,Jan.28th.Very sad. Sincere condolences to friends and families of the missing. Edited January 29, 2012 by Mtguide Quote
sobo Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 Sad indeed... With them now two weeks overdue and still no sign of them, the prognosis is not very good... Quote
John_Scurlock Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Sad indeed... With them now two weeks overdue and still no sign of them, the prognosis is not very good... this time of year, even when the weather's 'nice' it's vicious there, http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/141168492 - taken by Steph Abegg around 12:30 pm Friday...can only imagine what it would be like on the ground..she's said omr has looked closely at the images from the other side & seen nothing.. not unexpected unfortunately.. Quote
CascadeClimber Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Looks like just a little puff of winter breeze to keep the bugs down, John Not five minutes after I commented about the low odds for the missing snowshoer, the news hit that he'd been found unscathed. So I've been holding my tongue (or fingers) this time. And yes, the odds are extremely slim at this point. It's been a shitty month for Rainier staff and visitors; it would behoove us all to appreciate the staff for their work this month as possible. Quote
Dave7 Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 It's been a shitty month for Rainier staff and visitors; it would behoove us all to appreciate the staff for their work this month as possible. Most definitely. Quote
WildBlue Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I snowshoe'd up to Pan Point on Saturday and the whole time I had the thought of the four missing climbers/campers in the back of my mind. The cloud level was right at Pan Point, and the wind was strong enough to knock me down. I sat down on the ice to switch to crampons and I kept seeing a person off in the distance, from farther up the mountain, who apeared to be slowly coming towards me. The conditions were really bad-- icy, killer winds, and that spot was just enough in the fog of the cloud to reduce visibility without being a complete whiteout yet. I got the impression that the person was struggling, probably having difficulty navigating, so I waited there to see if he needed help. He kept fading in and out of view, but not getting any closer. Finally I decided to go and see if I could assist, but after about fifty feet I found myself at the edge of a cornice, looking out into nothing but white. There was definitely nobody there, but a water bottle was frozen in place at my feet. I was very puzzled. It is possible that I didn't really see anybody at all. Perceptions of depth and direction get really distorted up there in that wind and white. It was very weird. Could it have just been the water bottle that looked like a person in the distance? Did I see what I subconsciously wanted to see? Or maybe the dude fell? Has anybody had their vision play tricks on them like that? Anyway, I really feel for the missing people and their families. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Yes. I once thought a floating sea gull was a cruise ship while kayaking in the fog in AK. Remove those scale cues and anything goes. Suggestion plays a huge role...I was looking out for cruise ships, not sea gulls. You weren't expecting an ownerless water bottle. Edited January 30, 2012 by tvashtarkatena Quote
Tyson.g Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I once hiked about 300 yards down into a hollow that had what appeared to be a nice large flat rock for me and my buddies to bivy on. When I got to it it was the size of an ice chest lid. The same trip I was able to get a view of my objective peak through the clouds and was discouraged by the remaining distance. One of my party decided he would stay put and two of us continued. What looke to be a long way off actually only took ten minutes to reach....yes the depth perception in off conditions can be horrific. YMMV? Quote
obwan Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 You guys are right on - that place can play a lot of tricks on the mind in those conditions. The Demons of Doubt can also nag you just when you don't need them. One trip on the Muir hike, I was sitting out a white out and appeared to look frozen and doomed - and heard voices roaming around me. Suddenly, they came into view a few feet away and I scared the crap out of them up close, and frozen. They were lost and I was in luck with a map, gps and a compass - we laughed and descended together and made it back safely. Quote
ScaredSilly Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 I snowshoe'd up to Pan Point on Saturday ... Finally I decided to go and see if I could assist, but after about fifty feet I found myself at the edge of a cornice ... There was definitely nobody there, but a water bottle was frozen in place at my feet. I was very puzzled. WB, it may sound odd but did you happen to stop by the ranger station and let them know about the water bottle? It may be a clue, it may be garbage ... but worth letting the NPS know about it. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.