Mount Rainier Climbers Rescued; 1 Hurt In 80-Foot Fall Into Crevasse

ASHFORD, WA — Two climbers were airlifted off Mount Rainier last week after becoming stranded at more than 12,000 feet, and one of the hikers was injured in an 80-foot fall into a large crevasse.

The two climbers were ascending the Kautz Glacier Route on Wednesday night when adverse weather forced them to halt their climb at 12,800 feet, the National Parks Service said. The duo didn't ask for help getting down and, the following morning, indicated they planned to continue trying to descend the mountain using the Disappointment Cleaver Route. Authorities monitored their progress using cell phone signal.

But about three hours later, one of the climbers tumbled into a large crevasse, falling 80 feet and suffering arm and leg injuries, the parks service said. The fallen climber used his cell phone to contact park dispatchers and his partner on the glacier’s surface. But the two were unable to rescue themselves, officials said.

Additionally, difficult terrain and weather prevented authorities from mounting an immediate rescue effort. Rescuers moved forward with planning both helicopter and ground rescues for when conditions allowed.

On Friday morning, a Chinook helicopter attempted to reach the stranded hikers but was unsuccessful due to heavy and erratic winds. Several hours later, the helicopter team returned to reassess the conditions and hoisted the first climber from the Kautz Glacier surface, the parks service said.

On Friday afternoon, a parks service contract helicopter flew climbing rangers to 13,000 feet on the mountain. The team climbed down to the fallen hiker and pulled him from the crevasse. He was then flown from the glacier surface.

The climbers have not been publicly identified, but The News Tribune said both are men in their mid-20s.

The parks service in 2018 estimated that an average of nearly 500 climbers attempt the Kautz Glacier every summer. The main climbing season for Kautz begins in mid-May.

"This route has become a fairly popular ski descent in the last several years," the parks service wrote in a route guide.

Kautz became the standard route to Mount Rainier's summit until climbers switched to the easier Gibraltar Ledges and Disappointment Cleaver routes out of Camp Muir.

"The Kautz is significantly less popular than the both Disappointment Cleaver and the Emmons-Winthrop routes," the parks service said. "This is almost certainly due to the greater physical difficulty, commitment, and technical skill required to successfully climb the route."

Many climbers are drawn to the challenging route due to fewer crowds.

"Unlike the standard routes there is no bustling high camps with lots of other climbers or man-made shelters," the parks service said. "This ads to the remote nature of this route."

About half the climbers who try to summit the mountain using the Kautz actually succeed. Given fair weather and good climbing conditions, fatigue and weather are the most common reasons that people fail to reach the summit.

"Fatigue can usually be attributed to climbers having difficulty with the technical pitches in the ice chute," the parks service said. "Climbers often underestimate the physical requirement needed
to surmount the moderately difficult ice climbing on the Kautz. The fact that the technical pitches of the route are encountered near 12,000 feet adds significant difficulty."