Not good news.
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/201 ... t-rainier/

And to think I almost did that route around the same time. Truly a tragedy.

Tragic news...
http://www.climbing.com/news/six-climbe ... t-rainier/

That’s a truly tragic event. And a couple of weeks ago I read about early season avalanche hazards (posted by Rainier rangers). No matter how experienced, prepared and careful climbers are, it does not guarantee a safe return--something most people entering the mountains don’t think about at all.

I believe all the climbers on Summit Post are sorry for the accident on Liberty Ridge which claimed the lives of two gudes and their four clients this week. My condolences go out to the families of those killed.
Liberty Ridge Route on the north side of Rainier is a high risk route. In my blog The Top Ten Most Dangerous Climbing Routes in Washington State Liberty Ridge was one of the runner ups as a potential killer. Successful climbs on any of the nine routes Curtis Ridge, Willis Wall, and Liberty Ridge require the following four conditions to succeed:
1. The climbers must be in top physical condition at high altitude.
2. The climbers must have advanced route finding skills.
3. The climbers must have advanced climbing skills that allow them to move
rapidly over all types of terrain.
4. The physical conditions on the route and mountain must be "perfect"! Cold
temperatures, cosolidated snow, and no storm in the offering are musts!
I left out that one factor over which no one has control - Lady Luck Must Be On Your Side!
Every climber contemplating climbing any of the north side routes on Rainier should spend a day at 10,000' on Curtis Ridge scouting the mountain. It may not deter you from climbing the routes there but you will come away more somber about what the potential is for tragedy! These routes demand SPEED in their ascents. No bivy's! No taking time for leisurely pictures! Its move and get out of the Death Zone as quickly as possible.
I doubt that the bodies will be recovered. No Recovery Team will ever be allowed on the Upper Carbon Glacier to search for them because of the huge threat of ice and rock fall.
May the families of the fallen be comforted by the fact that they died doing an activity that they loved!

I climbed Liberty Ridge July 15, 1994 - 20 years ago. I went back again mid July last year and was shocked by how different the conditions were (my profile photo has Liberty Ridge in the background from that latest trip). Photos from a trip report two weeks ago look more like late season than early season. I think changing conditions in general, and this year in particular with the snow coming late, have made the climb more dangerous. The season seems to get shorter and earlier every year. I'm saddened to think that one of the 50 Classic Climbs may not be climbable in another 20 years.

Also, when I climbed it a number of thoughts went through my head including 'I would never want to guide that route'. I would only want to climb it with someone who was fast and comfortable with climbing un-roped or simultaneously. As Murph1 suggested, from Thumb Rock you have to sprint for the summit. There is no good place to stop in between Thumb Rock and Liberty Cap. It is all steep and exposed to rock fall, serac fall, avalanches, and weather.

My sincerest condolences go out to the friends and families of the fallen.

Murph1 hit the nail on the head by saying "Lady Luck Must Be On Your Side!" Without luck none of us would have made it back alive. We did Liberty Ridge in early July in the mid 90s, and I thought it was the most dangerous route I had ever done. The lower part of the route before Thumb Rock was nearly free of snow/ice. I could have caused the death of my two partners by causing a rock slide. And, I was nearly killed by a falling rock behind Thumb Rock. Then I nearly got hit by another rock going through another section, before Black Pyramid, that I called "the shooting gallery" in my Trip report. I know people who got hit in the shoulder and face by rock falls. This route is a killer.

My heart goes out to their friends and families. Rest In Peace fellow climbers.

My climbing partner and I were 1 day ahead of this team.

We left for Curtis Ridge on Sunday (the 25th). Sunday and Monday were predominantly white out conditions. There was not a whole lot of precipitation, but we were in the "SOUP" for most of the time making glacial crossings more challenging. Determining up from down was difficult enough let alone having to navigate around crevasses. However, snow conditions seemed to be stable. We came pretty close to turning around on Monday as we were experiencing a wintery mix and were unsure of how that precipitation would effect the ridge. The weather cleared at around 5am and we decided to break camp and go have a look. Eventually, we made our way to Thumb Rock by around 2pm. We had a permit to camp at thumb rock for 2 days (to give us a buffer day) and were warned that this guided group would be sharing thumb rock camp with us if we were there on day 2.

We fired to the summit at 2am on Tuesday May 27. It was a beautifully clear albeit cold day. The snow was deep. We were post holing in knee to waist deep snow the majority of the way to the summit. I had a hard time getting my feet to warm up and eventually had to take my boot and sock off to warm my foot on my partner’s stomach. However, as time passed we decided we needed to get moving, and quick as the sun started to heat the snow slopes and seracs above. I assessed the snow several times and found it to be well consolidated with no obvious weak or faceted layers, however it was still disconcerting on the upper snow slopes. As we got higher on the slopes I was able to dig a foot or so down every so often and sink a screw into the glacial ice in hopes that if the slope slid we would stay attached to the mountain. That being said we knew the safest bet was just to move as quickly as possible. Every so often when we rested for a few seconds I scanned the carbon glacier below in hopes of seeing the AAI team navigating their way to the toe of Liberty Ridge. I never did see them but am aware they did make it to thumb rock that day.

Soon as we crested the ridge heading towards the bergschrund crux, a big serac calved off and avalanched down the liberty wall only a few hundred feet from us. It was of no immediate danger to us but lit the fire under us to move even quicker. We found a fairly direct way to cross the bergschrund and were able to reach the summit by 11:30am (left thumb rock at 2am) which was much slower than we expected. We continued to post hole all the way back down the Emmons Glacier and eventually to camp Sherman. We decided to stay the night there as we were dangerously dehydrated and worked. I got a nice case of snow blindness in one eye (even while wearing proper eyewear the whole time) and some nice frostbite on my foot which I later had to go to the ER for.

It snowed a bit over night and the winds picked up for most of the night. When we awoke the next morning, the tent had a heavy layer of spindrift on one side. The next day we walked out to the road, which was still closed, and had to walk the 4 miles to the car. I was able to rig a makeshift sandal so i could take my swollen and blistered foot out of my boot. The AAI van was parked right next to us.

As news reports started spreading about the AAI team my heart sunk. I never met the men in that group but during the entire climb we were aware of their presence on our tail. I feel incredibly humbled and grateful to have been allowed a safe passage over rainier. It saddens me to know that these men were not as fortunate. It is a frightening feeling to know that only hours after we passed through this terrain it claimed 6 lives. It could have just as easily been us. My thoughts and prayers are with these climbers and their families and friends. Although I did not personally know them, I feel a deep sense of loss. They were taken from this world much too soon.

The climbing community has experienced much tragedy this season from the death of Chad Kellogg, to the Sherpa on Everest, and now this. Let it serve as a reminder that although we do our best to mitigate the risks we take, the mountains are to be respected and can take from you just as easily as they give us joy. Be careful out there and give the respect to the mountains that they deserve.

Rest in Peace Eitan Green, Matthew Hegeman, Mark Mahaney, Uday Marty, John Mullally and Erik Kolb. You will be missed.

Per Alpine Ascents:

Memorial Service for Climbers Eitan Green and Mathew Hegeman

Please join us as we remember dear friends and fellow climbers Matthew and Eitan
DATE:
Saturday, June 21, 2014.
3pm to 5pm

LOCATION:
The Mountaineers
7700 Sand Point Way NE – Seattle, WA 98115

Please RSVP to Alli Qubain - aqubain@alpineascents.com

Respectfully,
JM