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Les
Trad climber
Bahston
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Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 9, 2012 - 10:34am PT
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For any who've been up there this summer, you know they've been looking for 4 climbers who went missing months ago in a whiteout. Looks like they may have found one of them (no confirmation yet):
Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Body Found On Muir Snowfield
On Monday, August 6th, rapidly melting snow on the lower reaches of the Muir Snowfield revealed a man’s body at the 8,000 foot level about a half mile above Pebble Creek. It appeared that the body had been under the snow for some time. A party descending from Camp Muir spotted the body within sight of the trail and notified rangers, who recovered it the following day. Although his identity has yet to be determined by the county medical examiner, it’s possible that he may be one of the four climbers lost during storms last January. Warm weather is expected to continue rapidly melting snow in the area over the next month or two, which may uncover evidence related to the missing climbers. The search for the four missing climbers is still active and ongoing on a limited basis. Searches are conducted during scheduled flights in the park and as crews are in the area.
[Submitted by Patti Wold, PIO]
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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That sucks. Right above Pebble Creek too.
Condolences to friends and families...
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Port
Trad climber
San Diego
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Its an unforgiving but beautiful mountain. RIP to the climbers.
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PAUL SOUZA
Trad climber
Central Valley, CA
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We summited Rainier Monday morning at 0930 and were caught in a white-out snow storm with 40+ mph winds and around ~30 ft of visibility, despite the weather forecast calling for a slight chance. Luckily we had a well pounded trail to follow with wands all over the place. Rainier is a beast of a mountain.
RIP
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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There have been a number of bodies found near Pebble Crk
over the years if memory serves. So sad they make it that far down to
no avail. RIP
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Jo Jo
Mountain climber
Lacey, WA
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Aug 10, 2012 - 12:54am PT
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Two mountaineers, two snow campers, and three snowshoers went missing on Mt. Rainier over the MLK weekend (Jan 14-16). The snowshoers spent three days and two miserable nights in the blizzard in the lower reaches of the mountain. They somehow survived without tents, sleeping bags, or stoves. Two of them walked out on Monday; the other one was extricated from a deep valley (it took nine hours to get him out). The mountaineers and snow campers were never found despite several attempts via air and by foot.
Mark Vucich (one of the snow campers) was found this week at the 8,000 ft level (about half a mile above Pebble Creek) under melting snow. His body was within view of the trail. He was identified yesterday at the Medical Examiners Office. We are hoping his partner, Michelle Trojanowski, will be found close by.
I have climbed between Paradise and Camp Muir several times since January in preparation for a summit attempt on July 4th. Each time I have passed through Pebble Creeke wondering how close Mark and Michelle may have been to finding their way down off Rainier. I am not surprised that Mark was found so close to Pebble Creek -- that is exactly where I thought he would be found. And, why do I think this . . .
Because, I was one of the two snowshoers who walked out on January 16th, leaving Mark, Michelle and two others on the mountain behind me. Each weekend I return to the mountain for training climbs and as I silently climb, I scan the ridges and snowfields for any sign of an abandoned campsite or equipment under melting snow. I have scanned the area above Pebble Creek several times and determined that if I was on the snowfield on January 14th, I most definitely would have tried heading down toward the safety of Sugar Mtn so I could dig a snow cave. A day never goes by when I don't feel grateful for my life and wonder how it is that some of us are just plucked from our lives so quickly and without warning, while others survive.
My regards and condolences to the family and friends of all four adventurers who never found their way home.
Josephine (Jo) Johnson
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Aug 10, 2012 - 04:13am PT
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hey there say, jo jo.... oh my... :(
may you feel comforted in these memories of surviving, somehow, in spite of the sad loss of the others that came to the mt... :(
thank you for sharing your story and your continued thoughts on it... may your future trails continually be blessed, that you may help others through their burdens of such, as well...
my condolences, too, to all the families of the lost...
thank you for your very heartfelt and touching post...
god bless...
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Fluoride
Trad climber
West Los Angeles, CA
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Aug 10, 2012 - 04:32am PT
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Jo - thanks for the first person account. Sounds like horrific conditions and glad you made it out in one piece. RIP to those who weren't able to make it down.
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cowpoke
climber
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Aug 10, 2012 - 09:07am PT
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Jo, your story is incredibly touching. Wishing you peace.
Eric
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Aug 10, 2012 - 01:03pm PT
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I was on the search for the snowshoers in January. We knew that one was possibly injured and possibly lost. The first two that walked out were never reported missing. They fortunately had a snowshovel with them and dug a cave for their first night out. They didn't know how to construct one, but managed to stay out of the wind. The entrance was higher, not lower, than the area where they slept, so the cold air settled on them. They were in excellent shape when they walked out.
One of my teammates was the medic for the other gentleman snowshoer that spent a couple of unexpected nights on the mountain. The first contact with the group seemed to be very encouraging that he was expected to walk out the first day, but as time passed, it became clear that he would need assistance.
So much snow fell over those days that travel became very slow - wallowing on snowshoes, wallowing on skis, snowmobiles are generally not allowed, the snowcat was very slow, avalanche danger very high and limiting how you could travel. Wind was an issue as you approached Muir. The days I spent on the search were extremely windy up high, but not bad at Paradise. You need excellent navigation skills walking around in the clouds, with the wind, with 9 feet of new, light snow.
No one has forgotten the four missing climbers. This month, my team is scheduled to go back and continue looking. All the MRA teams in the area are scheduling training and search missions in the area to look for them. This has happened all summer, and will continue until late autumn, when the new snow starts to pile up. It was a cool early summer, so the snowpack stayed thick much longer than normal this year. I was surprised at how high the snowpack was since the snowfall was not extreme, but the melting has been slower this year.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 10, 2012 - 01:29pm PT
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I would put my knowledge of that area
equal to most anybody's and I got a tad
'cornfused' in that immediate vicinity
BITD. It ain't hard. My best was
coming off Ptarmigan R one winter in a
righteous white-out. Despite intimate
knowledge,a compass,and a map it turned
into a major epic that saw us hoofing it
out the Carbon River instead of our
planned route via Mowich Lk! DOH!
It boggles my mind that people will
nowadays spend a small fortune on their gear
but not go for another $2-300 for a
GPS that weighs 6 ounces.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Aug 10, 2012 - 01:47pm PT
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Amazingly enough, people will have these electronic devices and have no idea how to read a map or change the settings. A couple of days of use and very cold conditions kill batteries. Every year we train on navigation, and it surprises me to see how many new people can't read a map.
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Norwegian
Trad climber
Placerville, California
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Aug 10, 2012 - 04:19pm PT
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i am an echo of myself.
i have inventory of my body
though i've lost the light that
rewards me a shadow.
im seeking it, the heavy cup;
though in my search i'll
prolly lose the body too.
oh well,
my physical absence will then enjoy
the company of my spiritual absense,
and together,
these two voids
may just make up
my substance.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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Aug 10, 2012 - 04:21pm PT
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The volume of snow dumped on Rainier in a typical winter storm can be mind boggling. I've done plenty of whiteout navigation on Rainier with both compass and GPS. One particular early spring storm dumped 4' of heavy concrete over 3 days on the Tahoma glacier side. The terrain was completely changed with drifts as high as 15'. Wet slab avalanches everywhere. Even with snowshoes, good luck. Took us 7 hours to get down through what would have taken an hour prior to the dump.
I couldn't believe the waypoints I had set on the GPS but they were accurate.
She's not that tall but don't f' with 'er....
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Jo Jo
Mountain climber
Lacey, WA
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Aug 10, 2012 - 04:41pm PT
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Just tagging onto the comments about GPS, waypoints, maps, navigation, etc. I wasn't a newbie to Rainier -- have climbed on her nearly every month for years. My boyfriend and I had maps and a GPS and knew how to use them. Unfortunately (and you probably aren't going to believe this) but ten minutes after that storm picked up, I had to put ski goggles on. Ten minutes later, I had to take them off because I couldnt' see a thing. The wind had whipped the powder-fine snow through the side vents of my goggles and powder-coated the inside of my lenses. I am a mono-vision contact wearer, so the wind then dried out my soft contact and I couldn't read anything. My boyfriend tried desperately to read the GPS but, with the blinding snow stinging our faces and making us squint, it was impossible. He ended up with frostbitten fingers and toes -- and was not in much of a position to expose his fingers to the small buttons on the GPS. All up, it was the worst (and most disorienting) event I have experienced. It was impossible to know if my next step was going to see me rolling into a 20-ft trough, or off a cliff. I remember seeing a tree in the distance . . . I thought it was a 1/4 mile away (how, I thought this, I'll never know -- as visibility was almost zero). Next thing you know, I walked into the thing -- it was about 3 ft away and I was looking at the very tip of it sticking out of a snow drift. Until you have actually experienced a blizzard that knocks you off your feet, blinds your vision, and chills you to the bone, you will never quite understand why GPS, maps, and other navigation devices sometimes do you absolutely no good. I did end up falling off an ice waterfall and lost a snowshoe . . . I was floundering in hip-deep snow on day three as my boyfriend and I climbed up out of Stevens Canyon. What a relief it was to see the rescuers. We had no idea they were out looking for others . . . our survival was due, in big part, to keeping our calm and waiting out the storm in the best possible ice caves we could build, given the whipping wind and cold conditions. My fondest memories are of seeing those rescuers coming up toward us on Mazama Ridge; the warm gloves they offered my boyfriend; and the hot tea.
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10b4me
Ice climber
dingy room at the Happy boulders hotel
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Aug 10, 2012 - 04:51pm PT
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I am constantly amazed how many intellegent people can not even read a map of a city or state while driving.
agreed, but hope they're not trying to read a map while driving
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Norwegian
Trad climber
Placerville, California
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Aug 10, 2012 - 04:58pm PT
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jo jo your blurb above
is a mind brick;
interject spacial voids between your
thoughts.
then your share is inhaled like nitrous outta a yellow balloon.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Aug 10, 2012 - 05:27pm PT
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its so easy to get lost in a white out.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Aug 10, 2012 - 05:28pm PT
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In a truly bad storm if you are not prepared to sit it out you are in serious trouble.
If you are prepared to sit it out.. it's a boring annoyance.
Most of the time we do not bring enough stuff to comfortably sit out a major storm when we plan a day trip.
Weather is not always predictable.. thus thing like this happen.
Nice work surviving Jo. Seriously
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Aug 10, 2012 - 05:43pm PT
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JoJO,
I spoke to you at the visitor center afterwards. I am so glad to hear that you still get out - you are a remarkable and resourceful lady. I was one of the few women on the mission and was stationed at the visitor center with a few of my teammates to rapidly resupply and bring medical resources to a find that required it. My team has a high percentage of paramedics/EMTs.
Finding you and your friend doing very well when conditions were so challenging gave us great hope for the man that was found later that day. None of you expected to be out for a night - let alone two. The missing climbers were much better equipped, expected to be out muoltiple nights, and weren't overdue until that evening. We all knew that those four were out there and might require assistance. It was such a challenging time - the shootings strained the staff, the visiting MRA teams came in for these seraches, and a new search was imminent. We had over 70 people in the field that day and had sustained that level of resources for a couple of days. We would not bring our trainee or support level members into the field as conditions were quite challenging between high avvy danger, bad navigation conditions, and high winds at elevation. I remember the cold not being too bad - provided you were dry and not in a windy location. We were excited to be able to provide that medical support and new supplies when the man was found.
Relying on instruments that are battery powered and hard to view in bad weather - tough. I fully sympathize with the challenge. The snow was tough to move through even with two snowshoes or skis. I tried both methods and found them horribly slow in the bottomless new 9 feet of light snow - not the normal cascade concrete. Even the snowcat was struggling on the road. It took a great deal of perseverance for you to get out. Many would not.
When you were found, we were so hopeful about the others. Then the other man was found, more hope. We knew that the others were facing more brutal conditions high on the mountain, and we hoped they dug in, not just pitched their tents. It was such a difficult time between the shootings, and then search after search. It brought all the rescue teams in the area much closer together. I can't rememebr working so many joint missions in the previous 14 years.
Don't take comments of others too harshly. Most times it comes from trying to understand and not criticism. Many are trying to learn from the experiences of others.
I still remember you telling me about the gift of the snowshovel, and what a great gift that was.
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