Climber killed and two others injured after rockfall sweeps through Mount Rainier camp
One climber was killed and two others were injured Wednesday night after a rockfall tore through a campsite on Mount Rainier, according to national park officials.
Five climbers, three of them uninjured, were flown off the mountain Thursday along with the body of the deceased climber.
The incident happened at the 10,400-foot level on the Liberty Ridge climbing route. A 911 call was made from the camp site at 8 p.m. Wednesday, park officials said.
Three parties of two climbers each were camping in preparation for a climb to the mountain’s 14,411-foot summit.
Rangers flew to the site Thursday morning in the park’s helicopter. After conducting aerial reconnaissance the helicopter took the most seriously injured climber to a rendezvous with Airlift Northwest, which in turn took the person to Harborview Hospital in Seattle.
The second injured climber and the deceased individual were flown out at 2:30 p.m. The injured climber was sent to a hospital in Morton and the deceased climber was transferred to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office.
The remaining three climbers were flown off the mountain at 4:45 p.m., park officials said.
The Liberty Ridge route has been the site of a number fatalities over the years, including in 2014 when three climbers died in a fall there.
This story was originally published May 30, 2019 at 6:56 PM.
