Man killed in fall from Mount Si viewpoint

A 27-year-old man died after falling about 200 feet on Mount Si, about 30 miles east of Seattle, this afternoon.

Rescuers reached the man about 3:40 p.m., administered CPR and took other measures to try to save him, but they were unsuccessful.

"They worked on him for 20, 25 minutes," said King County Deputy C.C. Bedker, of the sheriff's search-and-rescue unit.

When rescuers first reached the man, they were trying to decide the best way to remove him from the mountain, said Bedker.

The man fell while hiking with a 22-year-old friend in an area on the back of a viewpoint known as the Haystack, at an elevation of about 4,000 feet, said Bedker.

A helicopter was standing by in North Bend, added Bedker, but the craft was unable to reach the site because of heavy fog at higher elevations.

The man fell about 2 p.m. Neither his name nor hometown were made public.

"He's been up there a little over two hours," said Bedker earlier in the afternoon. "That's a long time."

Rescuers reached the man about 3:40 p.m. and he died about 4:15 p.m., said Bedker.

The fall took place in an area that's one of the most popular hiking trails in the Seattle region, reached by thousands of people a year.

The trailhead is about two miles north of Interstate 90 and it's about four miles to the viewpoint from which the man fell, according to maps posted at the site, with a viewpoint elevation of 3,980 feet.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com.