A Mount Rainier climbing ranger has died during efforts to rescue four injured climbers from Waco, Texas.
Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher said 34-year-old Nick Hall fell 3,000 feet Thursday from the 13,700-foot level of the 14,411-foot mountain. He was dead when other rangers reached him several hours later.
A helicopter plucked three of the injured climbers off the mountain Thursday night while the fourth -- a woman -- was waiting out a worsening storm overnight with the aid of park rangers.
The Texas party includes two men and two women. Bacher said all four have non-life-threatening injuries. The spokesman said the woman spending the night on the mountain is the least-injured climber and may be able to walk out in the morning.
The climbers were roped together when they fell on Emmons Glacier. The two women at the end of the rope ended up in a crevasse. Rangers who responded to a cell phone call helped them out of the crevasse.
3 Rescued Climbers in Fair Condition
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The latest news from around North Texas.
Three climbers rescued from Mount Rainier in an operation that cost the life of a ranger have been hospitalized in fair condition.
Their conditions Friday were confirmed by a spokesman for Madigan Army Medical Center, Jay Ebbeson.
A national park spokesman says a fourth climber who spent the night on the mountain is walking out with rangers.
The four climbers from Texas were battered when two fell into a crevasse Thursday on the way down from the summit.
A ranger who helped rescue the, Nick Hall, fell 3,000 feet to his death.
Rangers are trying to recover his body and hoping weather will permit a helicopter to do the job.
