Hikers' Bodies Removed From Rainier

Hikers' Bodies Removed From Rainier

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Story Published: May 23, 2005 at 10:27 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 1:57 AM PDT

By KOMO Staff & News Services

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ASHFORD, WASH. - Early Tuesday afternoon a recovery helicopter brought down the bodies of two hikers who died on Mount Rainier.

Tim Stark, 57, and his nephew Greg Stark, 27, both of Lakewood in Pierce County, were reported missing Monday when they failed to return from a planned weekend trip to Camp Muir, at the 10,000-foot level of the 14,411-foot peak, supervisory ranger Mike Gauthier said.

The men set out on their trip Saturday but a heavy snowstorm hit the camp area over the weekend.

Several other climbers were delayed in coming back down the mountain but as Monday progressed and the Starks failed to return, "we of course became very concerned," Gauthier said.

A search helicopter spotted the bodies of the two victims Monday night. They were 100 yards apart and only one of them was seen wearing a backpack. They were at the 8,200-foot level on the Muir snowfield, which is near the Paradise Glacier on the south side of the mountain.

Mount Rainier spokeswoman Patti Wold says the men carried warm clothing, a tent and sleeping bags, but one was wearing only shorts and the other cotton pants. They left gear that could have saved their lives in their backpacks.

It is still unclear what went wrong.

Park rangers told KOMO 4 News this is a rather flat area so it does not look like the two were hurt in any sort of a fall. It is possible the whiteout conditions that blew in late Saturday afternoon were just too much.

"When the weather is like that you can only see about one foot in front of you and it is very disorienting," said Wold. "You think you are going up hill and you are going downhill, it is very disorienting."

"Usually what we ask people to do is just to stop and wait out the weather. We don't know what happened up there. They could have stopped and not had enough clothing or a sleeping bag to climb into," Wold added.

Three climbing rangers were with the helicopter recovery team Tuesday. One of the rangers is a scene investigator who began the process of trying to figure out what went wrong.

The national park says these are the first deaths on the mountain this year.

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