Two climbers stuck on the side of Mount Rainier were rescued by the park's climbing rangers. The arrow points to their location/NPS

A cell phone call from 80 feet down in a crevasse on Mount Rainier National Park helped a team of the park's elite rangers rescue two climbers trapped on Friday the 13th by wintry conditions at 12,000 feet on the steep side of the mountain.

The climbers, who were not identified, made a 911 call last Wednesday night to say deteriorating weather conditions had forced them to halt their ascent of the mountain at 12,800 feet on the Kautz Glacier climbing route. The party did not initially request assistance. In a call the next morning they indicated that they were still mobile and planning to attempt a descent of the Disappointment Cleaver Route. Progress of the team was monitored through cell phone signal.

Three hours later, at 10:30 a.m. last Thursday, the climbers reported that one member of the party had fallen into a large crevasse and sustained arm and leg injuries. The individual in the crevasse was able to establish cell phone contact with Mount Rainier National Park dispatch and his partner on the glacier’s surface, but they were unable to self-rescue. Terrain and weather prohibited immediate rescue efforts. Planning for aviation and ground team response moved forward for implementation when conditions would permit a rescue.

Deep snow, strong and erratic winds, and limited visibility at the accident site caused significant challenges for National Park Service and military rescue teams.

On Friday the 13th, the USAR F Company 2-135th Chinook helicopter with the 304th Air Rescue Squadron out of Portland, Oregon, on board attempted an early morning rescue operation, but it was unsuccessful due to heavy and erratic winds. They returned several hours later to assess conditions and extricated the first climber by hoist from the Kautz Glacier surface.

Later that afternoon the National Park Service Contract Helicopter 25CL inserted a team of four Mount Rainier National Park climbing rangers at 13,000’ on the mountain. The team climbed down to the incident location where they rescued the second climber from the crevasse. He was then flown to safety and further medical care by the 25CL helicopter.