Climbers rescued from Mount Rainier

MOUNT RAINIER - Two climbers were rescued from the Kautz Climbing Route on Mount Rainier on Friday after inclement weather forced them to halt their climb.

A rescue operation was dispatched with members from the 304th Air Rescue Squadron out of Portland, Oregon to make a first attempt at a rescue but was unsuccessful. Weather conditions plagued the first attempt at rescue, with heavy and erratic winds providing an unsafe environment.

The first of the two climbers was rescued later on Friday on a second attempt, with the climber being hoisted by helicopter from the Kautz Glacier face.

The second climber was rescued Friday afternoon after four climbing rangers with Mount Rainier National Park were deployed at 13,000 feet and descended 800 feet to where the second climber was located. Once again using a helicopter, the second climber was hoisted from the 80-foot crevasse he had fallen into.

The climbers originally called 911 Wednesday night, when harsh weather hit at 12,800 feet and stopped their trek below Wapowety Cleaver. While the climbers did not request assistance at that time, they called again Thursday morning to give their plans of a descent down the Disappointment Cleaver Route.

Just three hours after the call on Thursday morning, the climbers reported one of them had fallen into a crevasse and suffered arm and leg injuries. After realizing that self-rescue was not a viable option due to the weather, Mount Rainier National Park Dispatch was contacted.

Rough weather made an immediate rescue impossible, but the two climbers were rescued later in the day on Friday.