Rescuers search for Rainier climber on Liberty Ridge

CLIMBING — Mount Rainier park rangers are searching for a climber missing on Liberty Ridge above 14,000 feet, the Associated Press reports.

Park spokeswoman Patti Wold says the climber went missing as his group of three was descending the mountain in high winds and low visibility.

Joint Base Lewis McChord is aiding the search with a Chinook helicopter carrying park rangers. Wold says the helicopter will attempt a summit landing to drop off rangers seeking to talk to the climbers who reported their friend missing.

The report reached the park at 5:10 a.m. Friday, saying the climber went missing in the vicinity of Liberty Saddle.

Wold says winds at the summit on Friday are expected to reach 70 mph, which will be a challenge for search operations. Twenty-six park personnel are assigned to the search.

Less than 2 percent of Mount Rainier climbers attempts to summit via Liberty Ridge , yet the route now accounts for about 25 percent of all deaths on summit climbs, according to National Park statistics.

Six climbers were killed in a 3,300-foot fall along the Liberty Ridge route a year ago in the worst disaster on the mountain in more than three decades.