Posted on 06/03/2004 12:41:10 PM PDT by 11th Earl of Mar
Rescue Effort Under Way on Mount Rainier
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. (AP) - A helicopter from the Oregon National Guard headed toward Mount Rainier on Thursday to try to rescue two climbers stranded by injuries at 11,300 feet.
Both are firefighters and trained as emergency medical technicians, said Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman Patti Wold. At least one of the men was injured, she said, but rangers did not know the nature of his injuries or the status of the other.
She declined to say what fire department they worked in or release their identities, pending notification of their families.
They were stranded on Liberty Ridge, one of the most difficult routes to the 14,410-foot summit, about 1,000 feet below where a climber was fatally injured in a fall last month.
Oregon National Guard spokeswoman Kay Fristad said her agency dispatched a Chinook helicopter to be used for the rescue. A second chopper was ferrying medics to the scene who were to board the Chinook once they arrived at Mount Rainier.
The weather was clear and 34 degrees Thursday morning - good for a rescue attempt - but thunderstorms were expected in the afternoon, Wold said.
The men had expected to reach the summit at midmorning Thursday, but called for help on a cell phone.
On May 15, climber Peter Cooley tumbled down a steep, icy slope, on Liberty Ridge and hit his head on a rock spur. His climbing partner, Scott Richards, maneuvered the two of them to a tiny flat spot, but for two days, the men were stranded as temperatures dipped below zero in whiteout conditions.
Cooley, 39, was picked up by a National Guard helicopter May 17 but he died on the way to the hospital. Accompanied by two rangers, Richards hiked down to a glacier the following day and was picked up by a helicopter.
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Do these guys have to pay for rescue? They should.
I agree. If you want to take chances,fine,but don't expect someone else to risk their lives to save you unless you are willing to pay for it.
You gotta love those Seattlites! If they're not swilling Starbuck's or campaigning to promote buggery, they're getting lost on a mountain! (Steve and Trapped excepted, of course.)
Mountain rescue efforts, like whale stories, always get front-page news in Seattle above and beyond their newsworthiness. .
Actually, I was lost in the wilderness once, but found my way out with my map before I became a news story. lol
I agree. Maybe accomplished by a fee for all the climbers to pay when they get a climbing permit.
Otherwise, the money might be really hard to collect. It would be really hard to ask last month's widow to pay for the rescue attempt on her dead husband.
Time to start leaving these guys where they get themselves stuck. Let them contract in advance with a private rescue company for these services if they want them. Tax dollars and public employees aren't supposed to be providing support services for daredevil recreational activities.
Hey, if you were in a car wreck would you have to pay for the paramedic that saved your life?
Oh, yeah, I guess you would...
That's one of the worst analogies I've ever read.
Wreck while commuting to work = mishap while on mountain climbing vacation?
S-T-R-E-T-C-H . . .
Freepers are never lost, merely "temporarily disoriented"...
I was hiking nearby and offered to help carry the litter. The rangers intially blew me off, but after a quarter-mile suddenly became interested in my help - it's quite a load carrying a dead weight off a mountain.
Ok, you wreck WHILE DRIVING ON VACATION. How about you wreck WHILE DRIVING ON VACATION IN THE MOUNTAINS.
Christ...
Nevermind....please.
FYI, Mount Rainier started a program in the mid 1990’s where climbers pay a fee to climb. It will cost 2 friends and I $110 to climb the mountain this summer, $20 for registration and $30 for climbing permit each. Note that the climbing permit can be used for multiple climbs in the year and I believe part of the fees are used to fund rescues.
I spend a lot of my time riding my old Mule "Rastas" up in that area near there, the Pacific Crest Trail is a stones throw away. I am glad to see the Oregon National Guard in this, Washington folks shouldn't have to bear all the burden for idiot sticks who get stuck.
The climbers last month were from Connecticut, I believe.
That said, the outdoors is wonderful, but dangerous. It does not bother me to pay a small amount so that if I ever get in trouble they’ll come help. Note that having been on over 200 hiking, camping and climbing outings, I have never used these resources, but am glad for those who make themselves available when/if ever needed.
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