Two snowboarders, Derek Tyndall and Thomas Dale, both in their early 20s, had been boarding down from Camp Muir Sunday afternoon when an intense storm forced them to abandon their descent and seek shelter, said Kevin Bacher, spokesman for Mount Rainier National Park. They stopped and dug into a snow cave near McClure Rock, and called 911 about 4:30 P.M., but it was too late in the day and conditions were too severe for rescue crews to attempt to reach them. The two men were wearing winter gear but weren’t equipped for bivying on the mountain. The were reached by cell phone again Monday morning as rescuers began making their way up the volcano. “They were in good shape,” Bacher said. “They were cold but in good condition — we had 70 mph winds at Paradise last night, so I’m sure it was very unpleasant.” Since then four teams totaling 28 people had been trying to triangulate a general location for the boarders by tracing pings off of cell towers from their phone. By late Monday afternoon they’d made visual contact from about a half-mile away, but weather was worsening and they had to abandon the search until first light this morning. Via Seattle Times.

Read more stories like this at Adventure Journal.

Tags: Climbing, Snowboarding

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