Clear forecast may allow for recovery of ranger’s body at Mount Rainier
Jun 27, 2012, 6:17 AM | Updated: 7:21 am
A clear weather forecast Wednesday may give national park officials the break they’ve been waiting for to recover the body of a ranger who fell to his death during a rescue on Mount Rainier.
Clouds, snow and avalanche danger prevented the recovery after Nick Hall fell 2,500 feet Thursday on the Emmons glacier.
“Naturally because of the aircraft use we have to be real careful about the weather and about the clouds,” says park spokesman Rick Jones. “We’re also still concerned about conditions on the ground because the avalanche danger has been high for the last several days.”
Hall had helped rescue four climbers from Waco, Texas, after two of them fell into a crevasse on the way down from the summit of the 14,411-foot mountain.
Hall’s body is at the 11,300-foot level.
“People I think are very strong and they’re holding up very well but would like to see this accomplished, not only for themselves, but for Nick’s family as well,” says Jones.
Once Hall’s body is recovered it will be taken to the Pierce County medical examiner’s office in Tacoma.
Originally from Patten, Maine, Hall had been a ranger for four years. Family members at the park planned to make a statement Wednesday at the Longmire ranger station.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
