Mt. Rainier ranger dies while rescuing climbers

Mount Rainier in Washington, in a 2004 file photo. / USGS, Jim Vallance/Stephanie Konfal

(CBS/AP) LONGMIRE, Wash. - A Mount Rainier ranger slid more than 3,000 feet to his death as he helped in efforts to rescue four injured climbers who fell on a glacier, a National Park Service spokesman said.

Ranger Nick Hall was helping prepare the climbers to be taken from Emmens Glacier on the 14,411-foot Washington state peak when he fell shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday, spokesman Kevin Bacher said.

The 34-year-old Hall didn't respond to attempts to contact him and wasn't moving, and he was dead when other rangers reached him at the 10,000-foot level several hours later, Bacher said.

Park officials notified relatives and other rangers before announcing Hall's death late Thursday.

Ranger Nick Hall, in an undated photo, died while attempting to rescue injured climbers on Mount Rainier.

/ KIRO

Hall is a 4-year veteran of Mount Rainier National Park's climbing program and a native of Patten, Maine, reports CBS Affiliate KIRO. He was unmarried and has no children.

A Chinook helicopter from Joint Base Lewis-McChord plucked three of the injured climbers off the Cascade Range mountain Thursday night while one member of the party from Waco, Texas, remained overnight, waiting out a worsening storm in the company of park rangers.

Bacher said all four had injuries that weren't life-threatening. The climbers, from Waco, Texas, were not immediately identified.

The climbers were roped together when they fell on Emmons Glacier on Thursday. The two women at the end of the rope ended up in a crevasse. Rangers who responded to a cellphone call helped them out.

Worsening visibility and 40 mph winds kept rescuers from removing all four climbers late Thursday.

Storms on Mount Rainier are notoriously fierce and obstinate.

About 10,000 people attempt to summit the massive volcano each year, with most doing so in the summer.

[rlwing3]

Every person that climbs Rainier has to pay 45$, plus $20 for a campsite. Figure 10,000 climbers a year, that's $650,000 a year to carry out rescues and maintain the mountain. All of the Rangers are climbers themselves, so according to most of the people commenting here they are "idiots" too. Could it be that you are all a bunch of pathetic couch potatoes that get angry when they hear about people doing awesome things like climbing mountains?

[chris5572]

They ought to send all of the republican House members up there for a overnight hike. Haha

[yetanotherwill]

I often hike but I don't climb - yet, anyway. My experiences with NPS & Forest Service rangers have always been good, even when they're in the role of the "meanie" enforcing the rules. Condolences to the loved ones, friends & coworkers of Nick Hall.

[w5cue]

Thank you, whomever. I too extend my condolences to the family and my deep appreciation for his effort and the rescue of those who found themselves in distress. Let us pray for the recovery of them.

[prm777]

Ummm... I think the freeway "thrill seekers" are already paying for their "risky" behavior in the way of auto insurance.

[credibility2]

Too bad these selfish climbers were safely rescued and managed to survive. The imbecilic thrill seekers should live the remainder of their lives in misery and great pain for causing this man's death. Their selfish actions are what killed the ranger.

[bearfoot33]

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[knewsteerrrrr]

Yeah! the stupidity of this annual mountain climbing bullchit and people going up there and either illprepared or get stuck, and then it's the tax payers that have to foot the bill to send helicopters and rescue personnel all over timbuctu to find the idiots and rescue their sorry behinds.
Maybe a $500 per climb fee is in order, you go up you pay $500 into a pot that pays for the idiots who get stuck and need rescue.

[superdem1]

This is insane - there should be a sign at the foot of every mountain saying "Climb at your own risk. NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU." There is no excuse for idiot human beings deliberately climbing mountains and putting their precious lives at risk. You climb, you get in trouble, you die. End of story. Not one nickle should be spent bailing these idiots out. There are orphans and sick people who deserve help, not these freaks.

[ralphing]

Couldn't have said it better myself.

In Phoenix, they have the stupid motorist law, which is for people who try to drive across roads closed because of flash floods, who then get stuck. They have to pay the cost of their rescue. The idiots that want to climb mountains should pay for their rescue and be held liable for any injuries or deaths that may result. Better yet, they should be left with finding their own way back on solid ground. That will cut down on the thrill seekers.

[bearfoot33]

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[inletbeach]

So four people from Texas get in trouble on Mt. Rainier, while a heroic park ranger from Maine dies.
People don't get what they deserve.

[bearfoot33]

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