FALL INTO CREVASSE, SNOW BRIDGE COLLAPSE Washington

FALL INTO CREVASSE, SNOW BRIDGE COLLAPSE
Washington, Mount Rainier
All 15 m em bers o f this clim bing party w ere cow orkers, family, or in one case,
friends o f the Tacom a Fire D epartm ent. Kurt Fengler (34) w as a lieutenant w ith the
Tacoma Fire D epartm ent. Fengler had prom ised his daughter Kirstan that when she
turned 14 he w ould get her up M ount Rainier. Fengler organized this attem pt to
clim b the E m m ons-W inthrop route.
Ralph Johnson and M arilyn Craw ford are interm ediate clim bing instructors with
The M ountaineers, as w as Fengler. Ralph Joh n so n ’s clim bing card indicates he was
the m ost experienced clim ber o f the group. C hris M orrill taught a class in clim bing
techniques at Tacoma Com m unity College. M ike W alling and Tom H enderson had
experience on M ount Rainier and other glacier peaks. Eight o f the m em bers listed
no clim bing experience.
In early June, Fengler organized a m eeting in Tacoma Fire Station No. 3 to
discuss the route, equipm ent, food, and clothing needs.
On June 20 the group met at M ount Rainier N ational Park. They clim bed onto
the snow slopes on Pinnacle Peak to practice self-arrest and “Z ” pulley systems.
They did not practice in a crevasse. T hey registered to clim b on June 25.
On the m orning o f June 26, they clim bed to Cam p Schurm an and the Emmons
Flat via the Inter Glacier. The party arrived on the Em m ons Flat in the late m orning
and set up camp. The rest o f that day they took it easy. T hey all had dinner around
1200. They said they ate many snacks and took naps for the 11 to 12 hour period
before the climb.
At 2245, all except Kirt E. Sw aleson started the climb. Sw aleson stated he
decided to stay in the cam p on the Em m ons Flat because o f his lack of experience.
The party broke into two four-person ropes and tw o three-person ropes. By the tim e
o f the accident, the team s w ould be strung out along the glacier w ith the last rope
team about 30 m inutes behind the accident group, and the first rope team about 15
m inutes ahead o f the accident group. The team s w ere follow ing a route tracked and
w anded by previous clim bing parties, w hich leads up The Corridor and then right
on the the W inthrop Glacier.
The w eather conditions w ere beautiful. T here w as little wind. The tem perature
w as 5° C w hen the party left cam p.
It w as around 0200 at the 3900-m eter level on June 27 w hen one o f the party,
Tom H enderson, stopped because o f leg cram ps and diarrhea. Fengler unroped him
and proceeded to go up to the next team w ith his daughter to get her roped in w ith
them so he could return w ith H enderson. A ccording to Rick Ussery, K urt Fengler
“w as just talking to D ave, K irstan w as standing in front o f me and the crevasse
opened up. I m ean it w asn ’t like w e w eren ’t on a snow bridge on a crevasse. We
w ere on a path that had the m arkers on it and the w hole w orks. Had we been on
crevasses we w ould have been holding the lines tight, but it w asn’t like that. It was
on an open snow bank and all o f a sudden it just opened right up. I m ean snow slid
dow n and they disappeared and K irstan w as standing there talking to me. T hen the
rope w ent ahead and pulled tight. She looked like som eone put her into a U .”
Fengler was found buried in a m eter and a half o f snow at the bottom o f the
crevasse. K irstan Fengler, the only other person on the rope w ith her father at the
tim e o f the accident, did not go over the lip o f the crevasse. She w as standing
w ithin six meters of Fengler, and yet they w ere roped w ith 20 meters of rope
betw een them. A t the tim e K irstan m ust have been standing in a coil of the rope
w ith her left leg. U ssery did catch the end of the loose rope, w hich Tom H enderson
had been tied into earlier. U ssery may have stopped the girl from falling into the
crevasse. The rope that the Fenglers w ere on w as a 35-m eter clim bing rope. Kirstan
w as tied into the center o f that rope. It is estim ated that K urt Fenglar fell 16 meters.
Ussery stated, “The rope tw isted around K irstan’s leg once and it was burning her.
She had K urt’s w eight and the w eight o f all the snow on it.” She was exam ined by
a doctor on that evening. H er injuries consisted o f a rope bum and a hem atom a on
her left leg w here the rope w as w rapped around it.
David Barrett (27) and Kurt Fengler fell into the crevasse at the sam e time.
Barrett landed on a one-m eter ledge eight m eters below the surface, but w as not
injured.
At the tim e o f the accident, Kirt E. Sw aleson, Jr. (20) w as on the W alling rope of
four at the accident site. At first it w as believed by the people at the accident that
Sw aleson had also fallen into the crevasse, because the clim bing harness he was
w earing was found in the crevasse. It w as shortly learned that his clim bing harness
w as jerked off his body and he w as uninjured.
At the time o f the accident M ike W alling ended up being the only experienced
clim ber at the site. Self-rescue efforts began w hen Tom H enderson w alked to the
scene unroped from below. H enderson cut Kirstan F engler’s clim bing harness from
her, and got her released from the rope. The others were trying to get Barrett out of
the crevasse. It took about 30 to 40 m inutes to get to the site. M orrill helped rig the
rappel for H enderson, w ho then rappelled into the crevasse. He found the rope and
follow ed it to Kurt Fengler. He dug dow n w ith his hands until he found F en g ler’s
hand, w hich he squeezed. Fengler responded. H enderson found a vent hole and was
able to m ake contact w ith Fengler, w ho w as upside down and needed help. The
rope w as tight on him and he asked to have it loosened. The snow w as packed ice
blocks and the party had no shovel. H enderson told the group that Fengler was
alive and he needed help. M orrill descended into the crevasse to help dig because
the going w as slow. Fengler w as not dug out until about one hour after the accident,
at w hich tim e neither M orrill nor H enderson could find a pulse.
M att Chase, a park ranger, oversaw the rescue and recovery operation at the
crevasse. O ther park personnel and helicopter support staff com pleted the entire
operation by June 29. The total cost o f this rescue w as close to $4,000. (Source: Ed
W ilson, Ranger, M ount Rainer N ational Park)
Analysis
T his w as a very com plicated accident because of the num ber o f people involved
and the lack o f ability am ong m ost o f those w ho w ere in the position to rescue Kurt
Fengler. Disciplined roped team s seem ed to be m oving appropriately just prior to
the unfortunate illness suffered by H enderson and the equally unfortunate snow
bridge collapse.
It is com m on and recom m ended for clim bers to have know eldge o f and practice
in crevasse rescue technique prior to attem pting a route like this.
(Source: J. W illiam son)