Skier rescued on Mount Rainier

Just saw this breaking news story.

www.kirotv.com/news/19919497/detail.html

park ranger was airlifted from Mount Rainier after he fell 40 feet into a crevasse

Hope he didn't drop his pistol 

Glad everyone sounds at least reasonably o.k.

I wish Sam Wick a speedy recovery so he can save my rear someday...

- However, skiing over glaciers in this warm weather?  Of course it sounds like he must have been on the north side of the mountain if he was skiing from the summit to Camp Shurman.

Ok.... about the guns... It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps there could be some special ammo that could put up a distress flare....  I used to shoot off a flare gun when I was in the navy.... that pistol had a barrel about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, like a hand held grenade launcher.  It would shoot a fire ball that would also discourage a bear... hmmm.

Best wishes to Sam Wick for a quick recovery.

I hope details of the accident are reported in Accidents in North American Mountaineering or somewhere. A skier falling into a crevasse at this time of year is quite unusual in the Cascades. There were several crevasse incidents last spring but the common thread in all of them was recent new snowfall. That's not the case in this accident.

See: www.alpenglow.org/skiing/high-route-tips/part6-glaciers.html

As I understand it they where skiing the Emmons and the crevasse fall happened near Shurman not high up on the face.
If this is correct I think I know the area and that bit is always dicey.
There' a very crevasses area at the base of the corridor where it flattens out just before the last few hundred feet to Shurman.
Last time I climber the Emmons to the summit( Not my last attempt) we got down the whole route with no incidents but at teis last area when your'e nearly home free, my buddies leg went through up to his waist.

Anybody know if it's in that area?

Glad he's relatively OK and wish him a speedy recovery.

As I understand it they where skiing the Emmons and the crevasse fall happened near Shurman not high up on the face.

...

Anybody know if it's in that area?

KING-TV has some unedited video on their website that confirms that it was quite close to Camp Schurman:

www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_07010...cue-KS.26babb6d.html