[1]View of the south face of Mount Rainier and the Disappointment Cleaver Route. / Courtesy photo by RMI Expeditions
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Two climbers were rescued from near the top of Mount Rainer after spending two nights in single-digit temperatures.
The climbing team was overtaken by extreme weather while descending from a successful summit, according to Patti Wold of Mount Rainer National Park. They dug a snow cave and waited out the weather at 14,300 feet, just below the crater rim, Wold said.
The pair activated a locator beacon twice on Friday but adverse weather delayed search operations until early yesterday morning, according to Wold.
A search by the park contract helicopter was undertaken amid clear weather Wold stated.
The two were rescued from Disappointment Cleaver, at 13,500 feet.
“In spite of spending two nights in single digit temperatures the climbers were ambulatory and in stable condition,” Wold stated.
Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and Olympic mountain rescues, and the U.S. Army Reserve B Company of the 1-214th Air Battalion supported incident operations.