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Omaha Steve

(99,073 posts)
Sat May 31, 2014, 08:47 PM May 2014

6 climbers missing on Mount Rainier

Source: AP-Excite

By MANUEL VALDES
SEATTLE (AP) — Six climbers are missing on Mount Rainier, and a helicopter search was launched on Saturday for them, a National Parks spokeswoman said.

The missing group includes four clients of Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International and two guides. They were due to return from the mountain on Friday. When they did not return, the climbing company notified park officials, Park Ranger Fawn Bauer said.

"The last contact with them was at 12,800 feet," Bauer said.

Mount Rainier, southeast of Seattle, stands at 14,410 feet and attracts thousands of climbers trying to reach its summit every year.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140531/us-missing-rainier-climbers-94f472d92f.html

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6 climbers missing on Mount Rainier (Original Post) Omaha Steve May 2014 OP
Climbers presumed dead - searches suspended. Divernan May 2014 #1
Oh f&$k! jimlup May 2014 #3
Lead guide for missing climbers was Matt Hegeman Divernan May 2014 #5
Matt Hegeman was our team's lead guide for my Kautz ice chute climb back in '11 jimlup May 2014 #6
My sympathies to you - Divernan May 2014 #7
damn... handmade34 May 2014 #4
Oh shit! That's my guide company jimlup May 2014 #2
They knew when they started their lives were worth risking. valerief Jun 2014 #8
every year...every fuckin year.... CarrieLynne Jun 2014 #9
Sucks. blkmusclmachine Jun 2014 #10
3000 ft straight down - might never find the bodies Baclava Jun 2014 #11
k&r, just found a personal connection to one of them. uppityperson Jun 2014 #12
R.I.P. love_katz Jun 2014 #13
Some footage of the force of Mount Rainier. Such a sad story for those folks. :( tofuandbeer Jun 2014 #14
not a good place for a climbing route wordpix Jun 2014 #15

Divernan

(15,480 posts)
1. Climbers presumed dead - searches suspended.
Sat May 31, 2014, 09:19 PM
May 2014

SEATTLE (AP) — Mount Rainier National Park officials say six climbers are presumed dead after helicopters detected pings from emergency beacons buried in the snow and a debris field that may indicate an avalanche.

Park spokeswoman Patricia Wold told KOMO-TV on Saturday that there's no way the group could have survived. The Seattle Times reports that rescuers found tents, clothing and debris strewn over hundreds of feet down the mountain's sheer north side.

The newspaper reports air and ground searches have been suspended.

Park Ranger Fawn Bauer says the six were 12,800 feet at last contact Wednesday. The station reports searchers picked up the pings at 9,000 feet.
ww.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/6-missing-Mount-Rainier-climbers-feared-dead-5519346.php

Air and ground searches were suspended, four hours before nightfall.

Tents, clothing, and debris were located by helicopter searchers, over Carbon Glacier. The debris field is strewn down the mountain’s steep north side — a pattern that suggests an avalanche or rockslide. Helicopters got low enough to pick up pings from avalanche beacons, buried in the snow, said Fawn Bauer, spokeswoman for the National Park Service.

“They [rescuers] feel there is no chance of survival at this point,” Bauer said. She said climbing rangers conducted a thorough search that included looking into crevasses.

“That is a steep face, almost like an avalanche chute,” she said of the Liberty Ridge route that the six took. The climbers were last heard from Wednesday around 6 p.m., when they reported they would camp overnight at 12,800 feet elevation.

Earlier today, officials said falling rocks presented a hazard for any ground search, and avalanches were occurring today.

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/05/six-climbers-missing-on-mount-rainier/

jimlup

(7,968 posts)
3. Oh f&$k!
Sat May 31, 2014, 10:08 PM
May 2014

God damn it! They were going up the North side which is the most technical. Oh my god! This is catastrophe. Now I pray that all of the guides I know are safe. My condolences to the families of the fallen.

Divernan

(15,480 posts)
5. Lead guide for missing climbers was Matt Hegeman
Sat May 31, 2014, 10:15 PM
May 2014

From my link above:
The lead guide for the missing climbers is Matt Hegeman, Alpine Ascents confirmed this afternoon.

He checked in with the company on Tuesday, saying the whole crew made it to Thumb Rock at about 10,700 feet, according to an Alpine Ascents blog post. Then on Wednesday, the group said by phone they reached 12,800 feet and planned to camp for the evening. They have reportedly not made contact since. (An earlier Today File post incorrectly said this group turned around at 13,000 feet due to bad weather.)

Hegeman lives in California according to his Facebook page. He has climbed Mount Rainier 50-plus times on four different routes, according to his bio on the Alpine Ascents website.

This link also has a map.http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/05/six-climbers-missing-on-mount-rainier/

jimlup

(7,968 posts)
6. Matt Hegeman was our team's lead guide for my Kautz ice chute climb back in '11
Sat May 31, 2014, 10:17 PM
May 2014

He is also the lead guide for the team that is missing. Oh my god! I don't know if I will continue in this sport anymore. This is just too much loss. A former guide I knew was killed two years ago on Denali as she was descending from the summit about this time of year.

Oh hell! The mountains have claimed yet more ...

Divernan

(15,480 posts)
7. My sympathies to you -
Sat May 31, 2014, 10:31 PM
May 2014

I used to do some fairly advanced scuba diving - particularly wreck diving & deep diving - it was exciting & beautiful - part of the excitement was the risk - no matter how well-trained you were, how careful you were, how top of the line and well maintained your equipment was - you always knew something out of your control could happen - and when the power of nature evidences itself, we puny humans are totally helpless.

My son, who lives in Seattle, is leaving tomorrow for a 2 week trip to Alaska - with some friends, to parts of the interior he hasn't seen yet. My main worry right now is the forest fire situation there. But I would never tell him not to go adventuring. Those experiences make for a fuller, richer life than many people have a chance to live. Maybe tone it down a bit with age, eh?

Wishing you safe journeys and always, always safe home.

jimlup

(7,968 posts)
2. Oh shit! That's my guide company
Sat May 31, 2014, 10:07 PM
May 2014

They've already had serious losses this year. They were the company who lost the most sherpas on the Everest catastrophe this year.

I assume they were not on the standard route as I don't think you could go missing on the standard route. I've climbed Rainier with them twice. Once on the standard route, a climb that was aborted at 11,200' because of bad weather. And once on what is called the Kautz Ice route which is more technical. Oh Shit - this hits close to home. I hope they are found safe. Thanks for the news.

 

Baclava

(12,047 posts)
11. 3000 ft straight down - might never find the bodies
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 08:56 AM
Jun 2014

“At this point there are no plans to put people on the ground at the site because of the ongoing hazards. In the weeks and months to come the site will be checked periodically by aircraft. As snow melts and conditions change, potential opportunities for a helicopter-based recovery will continue to be evaluated. There is no certainty that recovery is possible given the location."

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/05/31/3220878/six-climbers-missing-on-mount.html

love_katz

(2,562 posts)
13. R.I.P.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:47 PM
Jun 2014


It often seems to be true, that there is more avalanche danger as the season advances towards summer.
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