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Search For Missing Skier At Mount Rainier National Park Fruitless

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By NPT Staff - July 7th, 2017

This photo, taken July 4, shows where the missing skier broke through the snow bridge and fell into Pebble Creek/NPS

Efforts to find a backcountry skier who broke through a snow bridge and fell into a creek high on Mount Rainier so far have been fruitless, Mount Rainier National Park officials said Friday.

The 30-year-old Washington man, whose name has not been released, fell through the snow bridge over Pebble Creek on Monday as he and a friend were descending the mountain from Camp Muir. The missing man’s partner saw the accident and searched for two hours using an avalanche probe and transceiver before descending to Paradise and reporting the incident.

Twenty National Park Service employees and a guide from Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., searched until darkness Monday. The rangers on scene estimated three to five feet of snow covered Pebble Creek in the search area, and reported hazardous conditions due to unstable snow and the potential to fall through the snow into the creek.

Photos taken during the search on Monday depict a large amount of water flowing through the hole in the snow where the missing skier was reported to have fallen.

A close-up of the hole shows the force of water flowing down Pebble Creek/NPS

On Tuesday and Thursday, the park’s helicopter, with a pilot and crew of three, flew the search area under clear weather and favorable flight conditions. Two hours of careful searching yielded no new clues as to the location of the missing skier. Photos taken during the search on Tuesday and Thursday depict rapidly melting conditions, and continued hazardous conditions in the area where the missing skier was reported to have fallen.

Park staff are continuing to search the area in an attempt to locate the missing skier as snow melts and conditions permit. On Friday, several independent search parties familiar with the missing skier arrived in the park and have been apprised of the dangerous conditions, as well as the prohibition of the use of search dogs or drones by independent parties within the park. Independent searchers are advised that their safety may be at risk by entering the area at this time.

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