Rainier climber who died was "a hero for us"

Cristian Burceag said his older brother, Eduard, moved to America eight years ago from Romania and fell in love with Seattle, its mountains, its opportunities.

Cristian still can't believe his brother, the one who taught him how to live life, could die on Mount Rainier.

"He is and will be the one who taught me to build my life with my own hands," said Cristian Burceag in an e-mail message.

Reached by telephone in Romania Thursday, he said it's difficult to talk about the tragedy that left his brother dead, leaving behind a wife and two young sons.

"I can't find words about him," said Cristian Burceag, who is 18 months younger than his brother. "When he left for America, he took his life in his hands and made a great career."

He said Eduard Burceag married his wife, Mariana, 31, in Romania, but the children were born in America. His mother was visiting from Romania, and was watching the two boys while Eduard and Mariana Burceag hiked to Camp Muir.

They got caught in a violent storm, and Eduard Burceag died. His wife and a friend, Daniel Vlad, were rescued.

Cristian Burceag said he was not surprised that park officials said his brother shielded his wife from 70 mile per hour winds and freezing temperatures.

"He was a hero for us," he said. "I'm sure he would do that. He knew very well that his children needed their mother and that was the main thing in his life."

Cristian Burceag said he and Eduard have a younger brother and the three grew up in Suceava, a town of about 150,000.

"We grew up in the countryside and had a wonderful childhood," said Cristian Burceag. The boys loved to hike and take trips into the mountains.

"He liked to feel the nature and everything around him."

He said he, the younger brother and his father are trying to get visas to come to Seattle for a funeral. He said his brother wanted to be buried in America.

"I can hardly believe what happened," he said. "I want people to know the truth, that he was a hero for us."

Trio left Monday

The trio of hikers had left Monday on a day hike to Camp Muir, which is at about 10,000 feet.

They parked their car at Paradise about 11 a.m. They reached Camp Muir, but stayed only about 10 minutes, said David Gottlieb, chief climbing ranger and incident commander in the rescue.

They started back down, but the weather was getting bad, Gottlieb said.

Disoriented by the storm, the three were about a quarter-mile from Camp Muir when they got lost. "They spent a lot of time wandering around trying to find their way back to a camp or a trail," Gottlieb said. "But they couldn't find their way."

So they dug a trench to get out of the gale-force winds and, Gottlieb said, it appears Burceag lay at the bottom of the trench, put his wife next to him and Vlad on top.

They had down coats, gloves and hats but were not prepared to spend the night, Gottlieb said. The 20-degree snow melted under Burceag's body and refroze, layer by layer, eventually causing him to die of hypothermia.

"Burceag was lying against the snow and ice," said Gottlieb. "Maybe he wasn't sacrificing himself, but he was protecting his wife from the snow. I absolutely believe he was a hero. He was heroic in protecting his wife and his friend."

They had no cellphones, but did have a two-way radio. When Vlad's wife, Julia, became alarmed when they didn't return from their hike, she called a friend who drove to Paradise at midnight, with his own radio. He was able to contact Vlad around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, who said the situation was dire.

Meanwhile, rangers at Camp Muir knew there were overdue hikers, but they couldn't mount a search because there was no visibility.

About 7 a.m. Tuesday, Vlad was able to make his way back to Camp Muir.

"My friends are down there," he said, pointing the rangers toward Burceag and his wife.

Vlad, suffering hypothermia, was left at Camp Muir. A climbing ranger, Kevin Hammonds, and a guide from International Mountain Guides, Eben Reckord, hiked down to the couple.

They found Burceag with no pulse and freezing cold, so they made the decision to put Mariana Burceag on a sled and pull her back to Camp Muir. She was suffering from hypothermia and frostbite.

"There was knee-deep snow," Gottlieb said. "Their clothes were soaked and the outside clothing totally frozen."

Three doctors, who were in the hut and preparing to climb the mountain, instead turned their attention to Mariana Burceag and Vlad.

Another team went down and retrieved Burceag's body. Doctors tried to revive him and checked his body temperature and for any sign of a heartbeat, but they pronounced him dead about 10 a.m.

Mariana Burceag was incoherent, said Gottlieb, and distraught.

Mariana Burceag and Vlad were kept at Camp Muir overnight. A Chinook helicopter was able to pierce the clouds on Wednesday, lowered a cable hoist and took the two to Madigan Army Hospital. They later were moved to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where they were treated and released.

Burceag's body was brought down from the mountain Wednesday afternoon.

"It's surprising that anyone lived at all," Gottlieb said. "Up there, you can die very quickly."

He said he didn't fault the three for attempting the hike because the weather wasn't bad when they left and they were experienced on the mountain.

"It caught us by surprise and most certainly caught them by surprise," Gottlieb said. "These were reasonable people with reasonable expectations and were well-equipped for a day hike."

They didn't have a stove or a sleeping bag, "but no one carries that for a day trip. You don't bring it on a day trip you expect to come down from," Gottlieb said.

Seattle Times news researcher

Gene Balk contributed to this report.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com