Hikers rescued after early blizzard in the Sierras

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. – Rangers completed a dramatic rescue Thursday of two climbers from a snowy mountain and removed the ice-encrusted bodies of two other hikers who died on the peak in an unexpected early blizzard in the Sierras.

The deaths occurred on El Capitan, a forbidding granite mountain at Yosemite National Park, following a fierce blizzard that stranded nearly two dozen hikers and climbers across Northern California this week. Other than the two deaths, everyone was found or rescued.

The two deaths created a gruesome sight for a helicopter crew that managed to fly close enough Wednesday to spot the bodies, which were blue and dripping with icicles as they dangled from their ropes about two-thirds the way up the precipice.

To retrieve the corpses, rangers rappelled down El Capitan, put the bodies into yellow mountaineering bags, and carried the them on their backs hundreds of feet to the summit. Another ranger team, using ropes secured to thick pine trees on the mountaintop, rappelled down to rescue the surviving climbers, who were airlifted off the mountain.

“They’re cold and they’re tired but they’re in fine condition,” said Jen Nersesian, a park spokeswoman.

The two victims – an unidentified Japanese man and woman – had been ill-prepared for the weather, a ranger said.

The blizzard blew in early Sunday and continued through Wednesday, creating deadly white-out conditions and 50 mph gusts as it dumped several feet of snow across the Sierra Nevada.

The storm made for an anxious week for families of the stranded hikers, but many of them rejoiced Thursday as the weather cleared and crews brought their loved ones to safety.

“Oh, thank God, thank God. This is the greatest day of my life,” Rita Bargetto-Snider said after receiving word that her brother, Paul Bargetto, was safe

Paul Bargetto was part of a four-person group – two father-and-son pairs – that had been missing since Sunday after becoming stranded at a 9,400-foot-elevation lake near Fresno, which is about 70 miles southwest of Yosemite.

The men, members of a California winemaking family, were greeted Thursday by about a dozen friends and family members after being removed from the mountain. None of the men needed hospitalization.

“Once the conditions got overwhelming, they stayed put and rationed their food and kept warm. They saved themselves,” said Jenna Endres, one of the rescuers.