Climber dies on Mt. Rainier

One climber died on Mount Rainier Tuesday morning and two others were suffering severe hypothermia and frostbite after being caught in a blizzard that forced them to spend Monday night on the mountain.

Because Army helicopters were unable to get enough of a break in the weather Tuesday to take the hypothermic climbers to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, they spent a second night on the mountain Tuesday night, said Kevin Bacher, a spokesman for Mount Rainier National Park.

Weather on the mountain had started to improve by late Tuesday, but not enough to permit a helicopter to reach the site, Bacher said. He said that depending on conditions, a helicopter could be dispatched as early as 5 a.m. today to get the survivors to the hospital.

Because of the extent of the survivors' injuries, rescuers didn't want to hike them down the mountain Tuesday because that would re-expose them to the cold, Bacher said.

The three climbers — a doctor, his wife and another man in their early to mid-30s — all from Bellevue, were considered experienced mountaineers. They set off on a day hike on Monday and reached Camp Muir, which at 10,000 feet is the halfway point between Paradise and the summit.

A fierce storm blew in as the trio were heading down the mountain on Monday. They made it to Anvil Rock on the Muir Snowfield, about a half-mile from Camp Muir, said Bacher.

He said he thought the three may have built a snow cave for shelter. One of them called 911 from a cellphone but couldn't get through. They tried again around midnight, but the connection was so bad that a park ranger couldn't make out the information. The climbers were finally able to notify rangers that they needed help around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.

"We knew at midnight something was going on, but we weren't able to talk to them until 3:30," Bacher said.

Even then, it was too dangerous to send rescuers to try to find the trio, who couldn't say exactly where they were because of the darkness and blinding snow, he said.

Around 7:15 a.m., one of the climbers "made it up to Camp Muir through the blizzard and was able to lead our rangers and some guides down to the location where the other two [the husband and wife] were sheltered," Bacher said.

Rescuers reached Anvil Rock within 15 minutes. But by then, the condition of one of the climbers "was grave," he said.

"The doctor is the one who was in grave condition," Bacher said, though he couldn't confirm which of the climbers had died.

By 8:30 a.m., all three climbers had been taken back to Camp Muir. The survivors — a man and a woman — were under the care of three doctors who were in a climbing party that had spent Monday night with their guides and park rangers at Camp Muir, Bacher said.

On Monday, cloudy conditions on Mount Rainier deteriorated over the course of the day.

"The weather can change quickly up there. This isn't the first time very experienced people have been caught off guard," he said. "Those conditions can overwhelm even the most-experienced and best-prepared climbers."

The identities of the three hikers were not disclosed.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com