Who: 35-year-old man
Where: McClellan’s Butte (5162 feet) located 42 miles east of Seattle
His mistake: Just an unfortunate fall during a winter climb
What happened: While doing a winter ascent of McClellans Butte using what is known as the northeast gully route with a partner, the 35-year-old climber took a fall of about 100-200 feet from a location about 200 feet below the summit.
He was wearing a harness but it is not known if he was roped up. Having sustained injuries to his hip or pelvis and unable to climb out, the partner made an emergency cell phone call to the King County Sheriff which activated search and rescue. A rescue helicopter was also requested from the Naval Air Station at Whidbey Island. While ground teams were trying to reach the injured climber, the Navy helicopter managed to hoist him in the chopper and took him to the hospital in Seattle saving the rescuers what could have been an all night operation.
Was this on Saturday? We saw a helicoptering hovering around the Butte as we were driving back from the pass and wondered if there was a rescue going on.
Yes, it was on Saturday afternoon and you saw the navy helicopter. The Blogmeister cut the date from my blog- February 21, 2009
Climber Injured on McClellan Butte Near Seattle
He have an open, compound hip fracture. Apparently, his harness broke. Scary thought to a climber like myself. I trust those harnesses.