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dave729
Trad climber
Western America
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saying gear scattered all over which means they were camped. Stuff out of packs inside tents when they got chopped. Dead man anchors
not buried deep enough, possibly not set up yet or what hit them was so big
nothing could have save them.
Rest in peace guys.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Grim. An AAI guided group, no less.
Sounds like they were bivied pretty high (12,800+)...sumthin must have slabbed 'em off, down the Willis Wall? Yikes.
Condolences to all.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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The Mountain Gods demand respect.
Farewell brother climbers.
To take such an experienced group.... conditions must have been... interesting. I look forward to the AINM report.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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It does indicate experince if there were 2 AAI guides there. Sorry to hear the news. Condolences.
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Bruce Morris
Social climber
Belmont, California
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Makes you stop and consider the wisdom of two guides taking a party of 4 clients up Liberty Ridge, even if those guides are aai certified. A party of two would have finished the route without having to bivy so high up. But who am I to say about the exact circumstances that day? A party of two might have been swept away by a slab avalanche just as easily as a party of 6. But a party of 6 on Liberty Ridge is a pretty ponderous affair.
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Jacemullen
Trad climber
Oceanside
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I wouldn't be surprised if they were following my team's footprints the entire time. I was literally just up there. Definitely hits very close to home for me.
I'm confused by the fact that with tents visible in the debris field, they must have been camping, though their avy beacons were on. Maybe a sign that something else precipitated their camping at 12,800? Definitely anywhere past thumb rock really is exposed to the Seracs as well as prime avy terrain so I would be shocked if the guides planned to camp there.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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I can't imagine why anyone would camp higher than the usual spot unless
someone got very ill or injured. I can't think of a place higher where
a tent could be pitched without major excavation. Very sad and perplexing.
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Flip Flop
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Sad news for the community. I think that one of the guides had climbed Rainier 50 times. Really sad news.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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I read some article that stated the guides had last checked in via radio at 13k... If I recall that's right below that last heinous shrund/step.
To kill all of them in good weather, I'd have to guess something large calved off that last step and wiped the route.
To the guy that was just on the ridge.... How were the snow conditions? Pretty consolidated above thumb?
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Jacemullen
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Actually, conditions were not consolidated, I would say that the snow was consolidated with a crust to 11,000', unconsolidated to the summit with some windblown sections to the summit. There were a few patches of ice between the Black pyramid and the Serac that were easily avoided. We did find one section of WI2 covered in an inch or two of snow that lasted for about 60m below the serac that we soloed.
We didn't feel there were any critically unstable layers when we went through but I can see warming really causing an issue with the snowpack. Another layer bonded to the crust could have caused a big ass slab event as well.
I really don't know much about snow, my partners are both very well versed in snow science though.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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their avy beacons were on
yeah, that detail caught my eye.
anything can happen in a long fall like that, and we can't trust these eariy (and possibly only) accounts. but yeah.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Very sad that such awful things happen in these beautiful places that we love.
My sincere condolences to the friends and families of all these people.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Persistent weak slabs have been a very large issue here in the PNW this year. I would not be surprised if that were the culprit.
Very sorry to hear about this. My condolences to family and friends.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, all... i had been seeing this article, too, and was very sad to hear how it ended... :(
my condolences to the families and loved ones...
:(
very sad...
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Chugach
Trad climber
Vermont
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I know the LR but am trying to picture the scene. Does anyone have a photo with diagram of best guess on where they were, where they ended up?
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Scott Patterson
Mountain climber
Craig
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Maybe a sign that something else precipitated their camping at 12,800? Definitely anywhere past thumb rock really is exposed to the Seracs as well as prime avy terrain so I would be shocked if the guides planned to camp there.
It sounds like they often have a camp above Thumb Rock, but sometimes in the Crater. Here is their planned itinerary:
http://www.alpineascents.com/rainier-climb-liberty-ridge-dtd.asp
Day 2: We'll travel to the Carbon Glacier and traverse to the base of Liberty Ridge. Travel on the Carbon Glacier can be complicated, depending on the condition of the glacier. From the base of Liberty Ridge (8,700 ft.), we'll ascend for four to six hours up steep (40 degrees) and exposed snow to our next camp, at Thumb Rock (10,700 ft.).
Day 3: We'll begin our climb before dawn and continue up 30- to 50-degree snow and ice. We'll use ice anchors and natural rock outcrops to provide running belays as we ascend. The technical terrain up to Liberty Cap (14,112 ft.) covers approximately 3,000 feet, and depending on conditions, we'll often have a short steep pitch of ice (70 degrees) to cross a bergschrund at around 13,500 feet. From Liberty Cap, we'll traverse to the main summit of Rainier (14,410 ft.). Our campsite will be selected by determining the condition and strength of climbers. Often, camp is made in Crater. This will be a very long day!
It also says the following:
For a minimum of two days in a row you will be required to carry a 50-lb. pack on this terrain climbing with two ice tools and cover up to 3,000 ft. per day.
It appears normal for them to camp somewhere above Thumb Rock and below the crater if they only plan to cover up to 3,000 ft. a day.
Very sad though. AAI actually has a really good safety record. They are having a tough few months!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Wow! Six at a time. Why so large a party on such a dangerous route? It seems small parties have the advantage.
Nonetheless, my condolences to the Mahaney family and to the families of the rest of the missing.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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50 lb. packs....seems awfully heavy for a climb of that duration. I have a much lighter pack for longer, more difficult climbs.
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steve shea
climber
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Condolences to the families. Ya, 50lbs sounds huge for that route. This is why I always preferred steep alpine routes and mixed routes. At 70+ they clean off. But no matter, if you are weaving in and out of seracs on lower angle snow with weak layers and then add heating and 50lb packs on a guided route with six...
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Port
Trad climber
San Diego
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50 lb. packs....seems awfully heavy for a climb of that duration. I have a much lighter pack for longer, more difficult climbs.
Mine was 39lb on LR. Not sure why the extra weight but perhaps AAI requires something extra for their climbers.
I'm very confused about taking an extra night high on LR. From my memory, I can't recall anywhere even remotely resonable to setup. Better to push on and finish the damn thing.
Damn tragic for these folks.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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I know the LR but am trying to picture the scene. Does anyone have a photo with diagram of best guess on where they were, where they ended up? Chugach
If they fell or were avalanched from high on LR, seems like they most likely would have ended up below the Willis Wall. Which is a bad place indeed, and would explain the reluctance of the Park Service to attempt a recovery.
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Scott Patterson
Mountain climber
Craig
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50 lb. packs....seems awfully heavy for a climb of that duration.
Not sure why the extra weight but perhaps AAI requires something extra for their climbers.
I admit that I haven't gone on that many guided climbs (though I used to guide backpacking trips) and the vast majority of my climbing trips have been unguided, but it seems to me that much of the time when a guide service says you will be required to carry 50 lbs or whatever, your actual pack weight is actually lower.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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This is just awful.
I'm a little surprised that Seamstress hasn't weighed in with information. She usually has a lot of information about things going on in that region.
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Slabby D
Trad climber
B'ham WA
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The following website has some nice photos of how icy and technical the upper section of the ridge can be.
Liberty Ridge photos
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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12,800' on LR is almost right at the right edge of this pic. Not a lot of good tent sites there but
more to the point your major difficulties are virtually over so why would you stop there?
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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seems like an odd place to camp. I always figured that if you launch from Thumb Rock, you better commit fully to the summit plateau or head back to Thumb Rock. Any place in between is, as we sadly have seen, truly no-man's land.
Has a consensus emerged as to what happened? Supposing they were in-camp, and were anchored in some fashion, I guess it's no big deal for an avi to take the entire camp for a ride. What I'm having a hard time envisioning is a catastrophic climber fall on one rope taking out the other.
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Guck
Trad climber
Santa Barbara, CA
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We dug a platform in good weather. It was just big enough for the tent and took about one hour (we were a party of two).
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Groveler
climber
NorCal
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Jun 13, 2014 - 07:11pm PT
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In case anyone is still wondering about this...
We were a couple days behind that party on the route. We arrived at Thumb Rock about 11am on Saturday and watched the helicopters search for several hours, not knowing exactly what had happened. We could see debris (gear) on the glacier below the Willis Wall.
The next day, climbing the route, we found a lot of unconsolidated snow on the ridge. The final section on climber's left side of the ridge, along and above the Black Pyramid up to about 13,000 feet, consisted of unconsolidated sugary snow in varying depth up to about a foot or more, over ice. Zero bonding between the snow and the ice, especially toward the top. The ice was bare in some pretty large patches, which I climbed through for fun, but it looked like the normal result of wind and sun exposure. We didn't notice any obvious avalanche paths on or near the route itself (but plenty elsewhere). I can't see anyone camping on this section of slope as they would have had to carve out platforms from solid ice.
Once above that final section of the ridge, there's a relatively flat area below the final bergschrund, around 13,000 feet, but a lot of that area seems like the fall line would be down the Liberty Wall (climber's right) side of the ridge. So it's unclear to me where they would have camped. With that said, NPS probably knows where they were, as they reportedly found some pickets that I assume were used to anchor tents.
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