Deceptive but Dangerous Mt. Rainier Seduces Climbers : Adventure: Four people died on the 14,411-foot volcano in August, but its lure remains. Some challengers come woefully inexperienced and unprepared.

The backdrop of many a postcard, visible on a clear day from downtown Seattle, 14,411-foot Mt. Rainier has the luster of a serene, year-round winter wonderland.

And therein lies the danger.

The mountain, a million-year-old volcano born of fire and shaped over the years by glacial ice from the snow that does not melt, appears tame from afar. But up close, to the nearly 10,000 people who try to climb it each year, it can be unrelentingly cruel.

Four deaths on Rainier this August should remind people that mountain climbing is an inherently dangerous sport, park rangers say.

“Rainier under good weather and good route conditions is going to be as simple as an extremely strenuous, strenuous climb,” said William Larson, visitor management specialist for Mt. Rainier National Park. “The route in weather conditions can change so fast and so hard that what started out to be nothing more than a strenuous, strenuous hike . . . will challenge the skills of even the most experienced climber.”

The third weekend in August, two park employees fell to their deaths while on their way up the mountain to rescue an injured climber. A little over a week later, two climbers were killed and another severely injured in a fall while descending.

The four deaths tie 1983 for the most climbing fatalities in any one season on Mt. Rainier since 1981, when 14 people, including a group of 11 climbers caught in an avalanche, were killed.

All four deaths occurred on the Emmons Glacier route on the northeastern side of the mountain, the second-most-traveled route to the summit. Icy surfaces likely figured in both accidents, although what caused the falls may never be determined, officials say.

News of the deaths has left some climbers second-guessing whether the risks of embarking on the longest endurance climb in the continental United States outweigh the rewards.

“I think, yeah, it’s probably deterred some folks,” said Craig John, a senior guide with Rainier Mountaineering Inc. as he and two other RMI guides prepared to lead a group up the mountain. RMI has a contract with the National Park Service to lead summit climbs on Rainier.

John said RMI diverted its guided climbs on Emmons to a less treacherous route after the accidents.

“It is something that I’m concerned about,” said Ed Oswalt, 37, of Middletown, Calif., who was among those in John’s group. “I’ve never climbed anything as hard as Rainier before. I’m hoping that since these leaders are people who have been up here lots and lots of times . . . that they’ll know how to avoid the dangers that have killed four people.”

George Laetz, 45, of Ann Arbor, Mich., said he and his friends have been coming to Mt. Rainier since 1982, drawn by its majestic beauty and exhilarating challenge. This year, he said, they were turned back from a summit attempt by howling, 30- to 40-m.p.h. winds at about 10,000 feet elevation.

“Every time we come we hear a lot of the fatalities that take place here,” said Laetz, fresh off the mountain. “That’s sort of the given of climbing. But other than that, if you just keep your head and read the weather and the conditions, you should be able to persevere.”

On average, less than 30 climbing deaths occur each year in the United States, according to Jed Williamson of the American Alpine Club, a national organization that promotes climbing safety.

Most U.S. climbing deaths occur on Mt. McKinley in Alaska, where altitude and weather are much more severe. Eighty people have died on the 20,230-foot peak since 1932, including six of the 1,250 people who tried to climb it this year.

Rainier, which draws eight times as many climbers as McKinley, has recorded 67 deaths over the 96-year history of Mt. Rainier National Park. That’s an average of less than one a year, though more deaths occur as more people climb the mountain.

In theory, conquering Rainier doesn’t require a superhuman effort. With an ice ax and crampons and a 40- to 60-pound pack, a person in good shape can make it to the top under ideal conditions.

“But the problem with this kind of environment is things change rapidly and there are a lot of hazards that can make things very technical in short periods of times,” said park ranger Scott Wanek.

What looks like a wide, well-beaten trail of firm, packed snow can suddenly turn into a 30-foot crevasse, hidden by a cover of snow. Storms pack swirling winds that turn the air numbing, create whiteout conditions and blow people off their feet. Climbers often wear hard hats to protect against falling rocks and ice.

“Probably once a day a party comes in so under-prepared and so under-experienced that you worry about them,” Wanek said.

A couple of years ago, Wanek recalled, a man showed up for a climb in leather dress shoes, blue jeans, a dress shirt and a leather bomber jacket. He made it to 12,500 feet and back without incident, but park rangers weren’t impressed.

“In some conditions, yeah, very minimal skills can get you a long way--but they can also get you into a lot of trouble,” Wanek said. “It’s like driving through L.A. with your seat belt off. You’re taking a chance.”

The park in most cases can’t turn away people who pay the $15 permit fee for climbing Rainier--regardless of their experience level.

And even seasoned climbers are often no match for the elements. One of the park employees who was killed during the August rescue attempt, for example, had scaled Rainier’s summit 12 times.

Hazard Stevens and Philemon Beecher Van Trump, the first people to reach the summit of Rainier in 1870, did so in hobnail boots and with alpine staffs.

“Today they’re using ice axes and crampons. I’m sure the crampons and ice axes are much more efficient at arresting a fall than alpine staffs and hobnail boots were, but obviously we’ve just had four fatalities,” said the park’s Larson. “Nothing’s fail-safe.”

“In everything we do, we balance risk and rewards,” added John Quinley, a National Park Service spokesman in Anchorage, Alaska. “For people who climb high mountains, there are no substitutes. They’re willing to accept the risks. They want to come back with their hands and feet intact, because they want to do it again.”

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‘I obtained my first grand view of the mountain in August, 1867, from one of the prairies southeast of Olympia. That first true vision of the mountain, revealing so much of its glorious beauty and grandeur . . . impressed me so indescribably . . . that I then and there vowed . . . that I would someday stand upon its glorious summit, if that feat were possible to human effort and endurance.’

--Philemon Beecher Van Trump, who, with Hazard Stevens in August, 1870, was the first to reach Mt. Rainier’s summit