Memorial held for Mount Rainier ranger killed in rescue
Jun 29, 2012, 6:56 AM | Updated: 12:55 pm
This undated photo provided by the National Park Service shows climbing ranger Nick Hall on Mount Rainier in Washington state. Hall, 33, was killed Thursday, June 21, 2012 as he was helping evacuate climbers from a crevasse near the summit of the 14,441-foot mountain. (AP Photo/National Park Service)
(AP Photo/National Park Service)
A chaplain at the memorial service for Mount Rainier
National Park Ranger Nick Hall prayed for a break in the
weather so that his body might be recovered and “bring
this
to an end.”
Chaplain Mike Neil said, Hall was “taken on the first day
of
summer in a manner that the people on this mountain
understand.”
The private service for Hall’s family and friends was held
Friday at the Jackson Visitor Center at the Paradise
ranger
station.
Park Service spokeswoman Nancy Stimson says fog and snow
again prevented a helicopter from recovering the body.
The 33-year-old Hall was a four-year climbing ranger
originally from Patten, Maine. He fell 2,500 feet helping
save four climbers from Waco, Texas. Three of the climbers
spent a week at Madigan Army Medical Center before being
released Thursday.
“There’s no greater act of love than to set aside the
safety of yourself for someone you don’t even know,” Neil
said.
Aaron Hall said he was always impressed that his brother
was able to make a career out of doing something he loved
so much.
“With a pretty heavy heart, I’ll be climbing mountains…I
mean, I know he’s with me, but the world’s going to be
that much more of a lonely place without him. I’m going to
miss him a great deal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
