Liberty Cap (top) and Liberty Cap Glacier, seen from the park's A-Star Helicopter on June 3, 2019. On the left is Willis Wall/NPS.

A rescue bid for a quartet of wind-battered climbers stranded on Mount Rainier with little gear was in its third day Wednesday, having been set back time and again by winds gusting to 50 mph and poor visibility. The climbers were pinned down without their tent at an elevation of 13,500 feet, not far below Liberty Cap on the north side of Mount Rainier, park staff reported Wednesday.

The Liberty Ridge route is one of the more technical and dangerous routes on Mount Rainier, and was the same route where a climbing party was hit by rock fall resulting in one death and two injured climbers last week. It is attractive to expert climbers because of its spectacular wilderness scenery and the unique challenges it presents.

The rescue attempt was first launched Monday, after Mount Rainier National Park’s Communications Center received a report of stranded climbers. It was not clear when the climbers lost their gear to the winds. The four, from Oregon, New Jersey, and New York, were unable to continue as high winds blew away or destroyed their tent and other climbing equipment, the park said. 

The park helicopter conducted an aerial reconnaissance of the Liberty Ridge route at 4 p.m. Monday and spotted the climbers signaling for help. Gusts to 30 mph made rescue impossible using short-haul techniques, a park release said. A backup plan to drop equipment to the climbers was thwarted by the same conditions, it added. Supplies were finally dropped about 1,500 feet below the climbers, where flying and weather conditions permitted, in hopes that they could descend to it.

On Tuesday, rangers again tried to reach the climbers by air. Initial reconnaissance showed that they had descended about 250 feet to a more sheltered, but still precarious, position. They had not been able to reach the equipment left below. High winds gusting to 40 mph again prevented both rescue and delivery of supplies, though rangers were able to see the climbers. A third attempt was made about 1 p.m. when winds calmed briefly, but a layer of clouds moved in and hid the camp.

Later Tuesday a Chinook helicopter from Joint Base Lewis-McChord arrived with three Pararescue Jumpers out of the Air Force’s 304th Rescue Squadron in Portland, Oregon, and five members of the 2-135th General Support and Aviation Battalion out of JBLM. They attempted a reconnaissance on their way in, but the site was still too cloudy. By 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the clouds had cleared enough for a second attempt, and although visibility was adequate, the wind—now a sustained 50 mph with downdrafts—was still too extreme to retrieve the climbers, even for the Chinook, according to the park.

With inclement weather moving in Tuesday evening, the park’s helicopter retrieved rangers and gear stationed at Camps Muir and Schurman to help with the ongoing rescue. Wednesday’s cloudy, rainy weather continued to prevent any attempt to reach the climbers by air. The military Chinook and the park’s exclusive-use helicopter were unable to attempt a flight at any point during the day due to cloud cover.

Rangers Wednesday afternoon were preparing multiple rescue contingencies involving both air and ground operations as conditions permit. Unstable weather forecasted for the next several days is expected to continue to limit air operations. To assist with keeping rescuers and the public safe, an emergency closure was issued for the Liberty Ridge route effective at 4 p.m. Wednesday. This closure is expected to continue until rescue operations are complete.

Climbing rangers at Mount Rainier have a huge selection of ropes and tools to help with rescues/NPS

The four climbers began their ascent from White River Campground on Friday, May 31. They were identified as Yevgeniy Krasnitskiy of Portland, Oregon; Ruslan Khasbulatov, of Jersey City, New Jersey; Vasily Aushev, of New York, New York; and Kostya “Constantine” Toporov, of New York, New York. At least two were described by family as experienced climbers. 

About 25 rangers from Mount Rainier National Park have participated in the rescue each day, in addition to resources from the military, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and the Washington State SAR Planning Unit.

Climbing briefs for the four most climbed routes on Mount Rainier can be found on the park’s website at http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/climbing.htm. The briefs describe each route in detail and provide information about how to prepare for them. Climbers should check current conditions and weather forecasts, and be prepared to change or cancel their plans if necessary.