You are here

Bodies Of Two Climbers Recovered From Glacier At Mount Rainier National Park

Share

The bodies of two climbers have been found on a glacier at Mount Rainier National Park, a month after melting snow uncovered the body of a climber missing since January.

The bodies, that of a woman and a man, were recovered from the Paradise Glacier on Friday, park officials said Saturday. It was presumed the two were part of a party of four climbers who failed to return from an outing in January.

The body of Mark Vucich was found back on August 6 near the climbing route on the Muir Snowfield, about half a mile above Pebble Creek at about 8,000 feet elevation, park spokesman Kevin Bacher said Saturday.

"The bodies recovered yesterday are likely members of the same group of climbers," he added.

Search efforts for the fourth climber were continuing Saturday.

The discovery of the two bodies was made by rangers ferrying supplies to Camp Muir.

"While conducting routine resupply operations to Camp Muir by helicopter, a body was spotted hanging over the edge of a large crevasse on the Paradise Glacier southeast of Anvil Rock," Mr. Bacher said. "In addition, camping and climbing gear could be seen strewn across the bottom of the crevasse. The body was partially buried under about 5 feet of snow and clearly had been in place for some time. The site is about a quarter mile east of the standard climbing route and on the other side of a ridge, at about 8,200 feet elevation."

After the woman's body was recovered Friday, a man's body "was recovered from under the snow nearby. Both individuals were transported by ambulance to the Pierce County Medical Examiner, who will determine their identities and causes of death," the park spokesman said.

Rangers were to return to the area Saturday, "both on foot and by helicopter, to further investigate what appears to be a large campsite buried under the snow on the edge of the crevasse, in hopes of finding clues to explain what happened and, ultimately, lead to the fourth missing climber," said Mr. Bacher.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.