A New York man died sometime during a snowshoe hike that began Sunday above Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park, officials said Tuesday. Dead is Brian Grobois, 54, of New Rochelle, N.Y.
A CH-47 Chinook helicopter from Joint Base Lewis-McChord was used Tuesday morning to lift Grobois from the mountain and take him to Madigan Army Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“It appeared he had been dead for 24 hours,” said park spokeswoman Patti Wold.
“We have no idea what happened. (Rangers) had seen footprints in the area, so if he fell, it wasn’t from a distance,” Wold added. “We just don’t know what happened yet. We may never know.”
Rangers scanned the scene from a helicopter Tuesday afternoon, trying to determine what might have taken place. A ground team might investigate the area today.
Grobois’ car was seen in the Paradise parking lot Sunday night and early Monday, Wold said. At 9 a.m. Monday, his family called the park to report him overdue.
Six search and rescue teams, as well as a helicopter, began a search. Late in the afternoon, the helicopter crew spotted Grobois lying in the snow at the top of the Stevens Creek drainage. There was a dusting of snow on him, and he was unresponsive to the helicopter.
The scene is northeast of Paradise at 5,500-6,000 feet in elevation, near the Paradise Glacier Trail on the south side of the 14,411-foot mountain.
Because of rough terrain and fast approaching darkness, it was decided not to send in a ground team Monday evening.
A ground team was taken Tuesday to the Stevens Creek Bridge by a tracked snow machine and then made their way up the drainage to the scene. Grobois was unconscious and severely hypothermic when the team got to him, Wold said.
Temperatures at Paradise reached a low of 14 degrees Sunday night and were in the mid-20s Monday night.
Grobois is the third person to die on the mountain this year.
Roger Alan Wagner, 59, of Ocala, Fla., died Sept. 13 when he slipped and fell 40 feet while taking photos at Christine Falls. Tucker Taffe, 33, of Alta, Utah, died of asphyxiation May 10 after falling into a crevasse on the Nisqually Glacier.
Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640 jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.