It was late in the afternoon and slightly snow when four climbers working on a steep gully between two peaks in the northern cascades of Washington decided to turn down the mountain, which would take three of their lives.
As they climbed down, the four attached their ropes to the python – a metal jump poured into rock cracks or ice and used to attach the ropes – which was placed by a past climber. As one of the men began to descend from a python, he pulled out of the mountain, sending all four falling ice and snow and rock.
They fell to about 200 feet (60 meters), landed in a more chosen gully, where they descended for another 200 feet before stopping in a rope entanglement.
Three were killed by the fall. One was demanded unconscious.
Anton I wanted woke up in the dark. Hours have passed since the fall.
Over the next few hours, he escaped from the mess of ropes, facilities and debris and overcame uneven terrain of rock and snow-with the help of a choice tool similar to an ice-like tool, to his car.
He traveled in about 40 miles (64 kilometers) before finding a payment phone and calling for help in a nichelem, unaccorpored community about an hour by car. It was Sunday morning, eight o’clock since he regained his mind.
From a hospital in Seattle on Wednesday in the morning, I was aimed at recovering from head trauma and internal bleeding, told the authorities what had happened. He was in a satisfactory condition at the Harborview Medical Center, which means he was not in the intensive care ward, Susan Greg, Director of UW Medicine, said in Susan Greg.
I aimed at 38 years, confirmed the theories of the authorities about what led to the death of his three satellites, identified as Vishnu Irigidi, 48; Tim Nguyen, 63; and Olexander Martinenko, 36.
A three -person search and rescue team had responded to the place of the fall after a call, said Christina Woodworth, who led the team and was talking to Survivor Lone on the phone on Wednesday. The team followed coordinates from the GPS device that the climbers wore, which were shared by a friend of the men.
The rough terrain required a helicopter that removed the bodies one by one, Wedworth said.
The respondents fell over the restored equipment, trying to decipher what caused the fall. They found that Piton was still attached to the ropes of the climbers, said County coroner Dave Rodriguez. The pits are difficult to remove from the rock, he said, and the presence of the anchor of the rope was the clue for the incident.
Overall, the creation of a reserve anchor is a common practice among the climbers, said Joshua Cole, a leader and co -owner of mountain guides in a northern cascade, which has been climbing in the area for about 20 years. It is not yet clear whether the four had a backup.
The four climbers were friends, some of whom had previously climbed together and looked quite experienced, Woodworth said, adding that I was aiming for “obviously very affected by it.”
Irigireddy was Vice President of Engineering at Fluke Corporation, a test equipment manufacturing company that released a statement on Wednesday.
“Vishnu was an exceptional leader and his loss is felt deep throughout our organization,” the message said.
Martinenko’s wife, Olga, said on Tuesday in a Facebook publication that her husband, whom she referred to as Alex, also left behind their son. She shared a relationship with fundraising to help “the most devastating time of our lives.”
“I still can’t believe you are gone, my love.”
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Bedayn is a member of the Associated Press/Report body for America Statehouse News Initiative. The report on America is a non -profit national service program that raises journalists in local news halls to report insufficiently concealed issues.