Climber Dies, Another Hurt In Fall On Baker

An injured climber was in critical condition Monday and the body of another man remained on Mount Baker’s north ridge after the two fell into a crevasse.

Search and rescue crews planned to set out early today to retrieve the body of a 40-year-old Bellevue man who died in the Sunday morning accident.

A 35-year-old Renton man was listed in critical condition Monday at St. Joseph Hospital with leg, arm and rib fractures and a head injury, a hospital spokesman said.

The men’s names were not released.

They were roped together and ice climbing on Mount Baker above the 8,700-foot level when one fell on an icy slope at 6:30 a.m. Sunday and pulled the other one down the crevasse, said Sgt. Scott Huso of the Whatcom County sheriff’s office.

They were in the crevasse probably about three hours when another climber saw them and called deputies, Huso said. Members of three other climbing parties came to their aid.

Crews from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station helped Bellingham Mountain Rescue volunteers rescue the injured man Sunday from the 10,775-foot mountain about 30 miles east of Bellingham.

But crews did not attempt recovery of the other man’s body Monday because bright sun was increasing the danger of avalanche, Huso said.

The men had some climbing experience, he said.