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DEM #98-1520 August 4, 1998 |
The unit was contacted by the Peirce County Department of Emergency Management at 2:30P.M. on Tuesday the 4th of Aug. Mt Rainier National Park Rangers had requested 12 Mountain Rescue Volunteers for the evacuation of a 39-year-old climber from Camp Schurmann. The climber and his wife were part of a three-person rope team that had climbed to the summit that morning. On the descent the subject caught one of his crampons and fell while trying to cross a crevasse around the 10,200 foot level on the Emmons Glacier. After the fall it was discovered he had broken the Tibia or shin bone in his lower right leg. One of his climbing partners descended to Camp Schurmann at the 9800-foot level to notify rangers. A team of park rangers was able to lower the subject to the ranger hut Tuesday evening. Five team members responded to the call out they were: Mike Mixon, John Kirkman, Jim Creamer, Ken Capron and Dave Treber. They were asked to be at the Ranger station at White River by 6:30 P.M. After a briefing by the rangers it was decided that the team would hike into the Glacier Basin Campground at the 6000-foot level. They left the trail head around 9:30 P.M. arriving at Glacier Basin at 12:30 A.M. After 4 hours sleep they left to climb up the inner glacier to Camp Schurmann. Two members stopped at Curtis Ridge to set up a haul system while the rest proceeded on the ranger hut to help with the subject. They left the ranger hut at 11:00 A.M. and with the rangers and the subject's wife they lowered the subject to the base of Curtis Ridge where they hooked into the haul system that had been set up to help them climb over the ridge. Two team members then went down to set up a safety system to cross a major crevasse at the first pressure ridge on the Inter Glacier. After they had passed that obstacle, they proceeded to lower the subject down the inter glacier. While lowering down the glacier, they met up with another Mountain Rescue team that had been called from Central Mountain Rescue in Yakima along with other park rangers that had been sent up. Also, two other members from TMR went up to the mountain on Wednesday. They were Fran Mcfarland and Gus Bush. By the time the team reached Glacier Basin there were approximately 15 members in the rescue team. With the litter wheel placed on the litter the subject was walked down the trail to the White River Campground arriving there around 9:30 P.M. The subject was placed in his Private Vehicle to be taken to the hospital by his wife. Mike Gauthier who had been the incident commander on this mission arrived with sodas and sandwiches for the rescuers which were greatly appreciated. The team was released and returned to Tacoma around midnight.
Tacoma Mountain Rescue |
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