Mt. Rainier Avalanche Tumbles 12; 4 Rescued

Twelve climbers were swept away in an avalanche Thursday on Mt. Rainier, with some left dangling from ropes in crevasses, officials and witnesses said.

Four were rescued quickly, and crews were trying to reach the others.

Of the four rescued, two suffered only minor bumps and two were mildly hypothermic, National Park Service spokeswoman Maria Gillett said.

The conditions of the others were not immediately known.

The climbers “were swept off the nose of Disappointment Cleaver. As far as I know, there are still some hanging in crevasses that we have not reached,” Gillett said.

The avalanche occurred at an elevation between 11,000 and 12,000 feet. The summit is at 14,410 feet.

A park ranger and several professional climbing guides were at the scene, and other rangers and rescue climbers were en route.

A helicopter was also being dispatched from nearby Ft. Lewis.

Warm spring weather likely caused the avalanche, authorities said. Temperatures have recently been as high as the low 80s.

A climber from a party that was not in danger used his cellular telephone to report the avalanche, said Donna Rahier, a spokeswoman for Mt. Rainier National Park.

The worst climbing accident on Mt. Rainier was on June 21, 1981, when 11 people on a guided climb died in a massive icefall at 11,000 feet. The mountain is about 50 miles southeast of Seattle.