Searchers found no sign of two overdue parties Thursday during a trek through blizzard conditions to Mount Rainier’s Camp Muir, park officials said.
Two of the 10 experienced rescuers remained at Muir overnight in position to continue searching Friday; the others returned to Paradise on Thursday, searching the snowfield as they descended.
Park officials hope an expected window of better weather this morning will give the two remaining rescuers a chance to search under more ideal conditions.
Another storm is expected by midday, which, coupled with avalanche hazard, could prevent them from searching tomorrow and perhaps for days to come.
Snow is piling up by the foot on the mountain and wind gusts have exceeded 100 mph.
“It really is pointless to slowly break trail in blizzard conditions …,” said Stefan Lofgren, head of Rainier’s climbing program but not part of this search. “You can’t place people at risk in the same weather that pinned down the people you are trying to rescue.”
A statement from the park Thursday said the search would be immediately suspended if conditions become unsafe.
Two campers – Mark Vucich, 37, of San Diego, and Michelle Trojanowski, 30, of Atlanta – were due off the mountain Sunday. Two climbers, whose names have not been released, from Springfield, Ore., were scheduled to return Monday.
Both parties reportedly were well-prepared, and park officials assume they are hunkering down to wait for safe weather for travel back to Paradise, as upper-mountain visitors are instructed to do.
However, as time passes, concern that the groups are running low on supplies are starting to mount.
Thursday’s search party consisted of park climbing rangers, members of Seattle and Everett mountain rescue and guides from International Mountain Guides and Rainier Mountaineering Inc.
Faye Vucich, Mark’s stepmother, told The Associated Press that Vucich was well-equipped and had outdoor experience, but not in the snow. She lives in Auburn and said she never met Trojanowski.
“The whole family is saying ‘no comment,’” Faye Vucich told The Associated Press. “My husband is too distraught to even talk. The Park Service has been incredible in calling us and telling us what they can do and what they can’t.
“Mark is very knowledgeable about survival techniques – mostly self-taught, from going places with other mountain-climbing friends. They’ve got everything they need to survive something like this, but I don’t know how many days. We’re trying to stay optimistic.”
A search helicopter is on standby at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, but it was grounded Thursday by freezing rain.
There is a public shelter at Camp Muir, 10,188 feet up the southeast side of the mountain, and a park radio that can be used for emergencies. Lofgren said the radio was tested last week and was working. He said it also is not uncommon for people not to use the radio because they don’t think of their situation as an emergency and “they don’t want to cause alarm.”
On Monday, rescuers found three snowshoers above Paradise two days after the trio was trapped by blizzard conditions during day hikes.
The road to Paradise will be closed at the park entrance Friday, said park spokeswoman Patti Wold.
Craig Hill: 253-597-8497
craig.hill@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure
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