Here is what the NPS stated this morning. Emphasis added in bold face by me.

Today's Report | Recent Editions
Wednesday, June 15, 2011


INCIDENTS

Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Climber Perishes During Liberty Ridge Ascent

A party of three climbers departed White River on June 10th for a summit attempt via the challenging Liberty Ridge route. During the climb, one member of the party, Rob Planker, 50, of Olympia, Washington, became severely hypothermic and possibly frostbitten. On June 13th, his partners were unable to get him walking from their camp at 13,600 feet, so left him to seek assistance. They contacted a ranger on Emmons Glacier at 5 p.m. that evening. Two teams of climbing rangers headed to his location, one team from Camp Schurman and the other from Camp Muir. One of the teams had to turn back at 12,100 feet due to winds blowing at 55 mph. Members of the second team spent the night in a snow cave and resumed their efforts to reach Planker at 5 a.m. the next morning. They found some of his gear at the point where his partners left him, but were unable to find Planker. Air searchers found a 2,000-foot-long slide track leading down a 50 degree ice- and snow-covered slope over some of the steepest and most inhospitable terrain on the mountain. The track indicated intermittent airborne periods and ended at an icefall below Liberty Wall. No signs of Planker were found during a thorough visual search of the slide area. A Chinook helicopter from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and an MD 530 from Northwest Helicopters assisted in the search, which was called off at 4 p.m. due to high winds. Limited visual searching from the ground will continue. The operation is now considered a body recovery, as the risk-to-benefit ratio is not conducive to extensive searching. Liberty Ridge is one of the most technical climbs on Mount Rainier. Members of the climbing party are experienced climbers and were well equipped for the climb. IC on this incident was Brian Hasebe. [Submitted by Patti Wold, Park Information Officer]