A man from Seattle died on Mount Rainier Sunday after skiing into a 150′ deep crevasse in the Emmons Glacier area.
Related: Heavenly Ski Patroller Dies on Mt. Rainier
The Seattle Times is reporting that 42 year-old Seattle resident, Michael Naiman was descending the Emmons Glacier when he unknowingly skied into a massively deep crevasse. He was accompanied by three others when the accident happened.
After one of the victim’s partners called 9-1-1, a search and rescue effort was launched immediately. 6 Rescue personnel were later transported to the area via helicopter and ultimately descended into the crevasse where they found the victim unresponsive. Once they successfully extracted Naiman, he was promptly flown to Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office via helicopter.
“Mountain climbing is a very popular activity in Mount Rainier National Park. Statistics indicate that in each of the last several years approximately 10,000 people have attempted climbing Mount Rainier. Over the last five years about 52% have been successful.” – Mount Rainier Search And Rescue Report
The rest of the team descended the mountain and spent the night before making it to the trailhead on Monday. The late summer months on Rainier are known to be extremely dangerous due to unstable snow surfaces covering crevasses. Those snow surfaces can easily give way under the weight of a skier or climber.
Find the entire Seattle Times article here: Seattle man dies after plunging into crevasse on Mount Rainier