Fatal climb highlights Mount Rainier’s history of deadly accidents

The search for two missing climbers ended in tragedy Tuesday after both were found dead at around 9,600 feet in elevation at Mount Rainier.

They are far from the first to perish at the national park.

Of the over 22 million people who visited Mount Rainier National Park between 2007 and 2023, 77 of them died, according to a study by law firm Elk and Elk.

Though it may seem small, its death toll made Mount Rainier National Park the second-deadliest national park to visit during winter, according to a study by John Foy & Associates.

The study analyzed NPS data about mortalities at major national parks between Nov. 1 to Feb. 28, or Feb. 29 if it was a leap year, from 2007 to 2023. Parks were ranked by the highest number of winter deaths per 10 million visitors.

Mount Rainier ranked in second with a rate of 8.55 deaths per 10 million visitors, which is 191% higher than the national average.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has not officially identified the two recently deceased climbers, nor provided a cause of death. Notable deaths over the last twenty years

The most common cause of death at the national park? Falls. Those counted for six out of the 19 deaths during the study’s analyzed period.

Most recently in October 2024, a Central Washington University student accidentally fell to his death while hiking one of the trails in the Sunrise area of the park.

One of the most treacherous routes, Liberty Ridge, has claimed its fair share of lives.

Tragedy struck in June 2014 when a group of six climbers failed to return from their summit attempt via Liberty Ridge. Search parties were able to find their personal items and six avalanche beacon signals 3,300 feet below the ridge they were climbing, suggesting a deathly fall.

Just five years later in May 2019, one climber was killed and two others were injured by a rockfall at the 10,400-foot level on the Liberty Ridge route.

And the deaths aren’t always park goers.

While assisting a June 2012 rescue of four climbers stuck in a glacier’s crevasse, national park ranger Nick Hall fell about 2,500 feet to his death. The mountain’s dangerous weather conditions forced rescuers to hold off on recovering his body until a week and a half later. All the climbers were successfully rescued and transported to the hospital.

Falls aren’t the only types of deaths that occur on the mountain. The weather can change rapidly, pushing climbers into treacherous conditions in an instant.

“A pleasant outing can quickly be transformed into a survival ordeal,” the NPS said on its website.

A 27-year-old Seattle man perished in severe weather conditions in September 2020. He and his female hiking partner faced whiteout snow conditions while hiking in the park. The man became disoriented and unresponsive, forcing his partner to leave and find help. By the time rangers found him, he was dead.

In June 2008, three hikers became trapped in a sudden afternoon blizzard while descending from a day hike to Camp Muir. The next morning they called for help, and after a delayed search due to difficult weather conditions, rescuers were eventually able to locate the stranded hikers.

Though all three hikers were brought to the safety of the camp, they all experienced hypothermia and frostbite, and one of the men subsequently died.

There’s also avalanches, which are most common during or right after a storm, according to the NPS website.

There were multiple avalanche-related deaths in 2007. One involved a 22-year-old snowshoer who disappeared in a snow avalanche while returning from a day hike above paradise that December.

Another occurred that year in March, when a 54-year-old skier was descending the slopes in out-of-bounds Mount Rainier backcountry and was caught in an avalanche. Though he was a skier with 15 years of experience and had an avalanche beacon, the man was dead by the time rescuers discovered him.

The single deadliest day on the mountain happened nearly 35 years ago, when a major avalanche wiped 10 novice mountain climbers and one guide ascending to the summit off of the face of the earth. Their 11 bodies still lie entombed in the mountain’s glacial ice.