News Release

Six climbers flown off Mount Rainier after rockfall; one fatality

Date: May 30, 2019
Contact: Kevin Bacher, Public Information Officer, 360-569-6701

A Search and Rescue at Mount Rainier National Park today responded to six climbers caught in a rockfall at 10,400 feet yesterday evening. Two of the climbers were flown off the mountain and transported to local hospitals, while a third died on the mountain. The remaining three climbers were uninjured.

At 8:00 p.m. on May 29, the park received a 911 call from a climber on the Liberty Ridge route, reporting that a rockfall had swept through the site where three parties of two were camping on their way to the summit. One member of the group was killed, and two others were injured.

This morning, park rangers responded in the park’s helicopter, first conducting aerial reconnaissance and then retrieving the most seriously injured climber, transferring him via Airlift Northwest to Harborview Hospital in Seattle. The second injured climber and the deceased individual were flown out at 2:30 p.m. and transferred, respectively, to Arbor Health, Morton Hospital in Morton, Washington and to the Pierce County Medical Examiner. The remaining three climbers were flown off the mountain at 4:45 p.m.

Twenty-four rangers from Mount Rainier National Park participated in the incident, along with a chaplain from Tacoma Pierce County Chaplaincy.

www.nps.gov

Park information, announcements, and the Mount Rainier webcams are posted on the park’s official website, nps.gov/mora. Get additional information and updates by joining the Mount Rainier community on Facebook: facebook.com/MountRainierNPS. Find out breaking news and road status updates through Mount Rainier’s Twitter feed: twitter.com/MountRainierNPS. Explore the park and behind-the-scenes operations with our videos on YouTube: youtube.com/MountRainierNPS. Share your own photos of Mount Rainier on Instagram or Flickr: instagram.com/MountRainierNPS or flickr.com/groups/MountRainierNPS

About Mount Rainier National Park
Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington State landscape. Annually nearly 2 million people visit the park to see the most glaciated peak in the contiguous USA and the ancient forests, subalpine wildflower meadows, and wildlife that live on mountain’s lower slopes. Visit us at nps.gov/mora, on Facebook facebook.com/MountRainierNPS, Twitter twitter.com/MountRainierNPS, Instagram instagram.com/MountRainierNPS, YouTube youtube.com/MountRainierNPS, or Flickr flickr.com/groups/MountRainierNPS.

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