Four Climbers Stranded High on Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier is the fifth-tallest mountain in the Lower 48. Wikimedia Commons photo.

A week after a climber was killed by a rockfall on Mt. Rainier's Liberty Ridge route, a group of four climbers has become stranded along the same route. According to the Seattle Times, they became stranded on Monday afternoon after high winds destroyed their tent and blew away equipment. 

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Liberty Ridge is one of the most difficult routes up Mt. Rainier. Seattle Times graphic.

Inclement weather has thus far prevented rescuers from reaching the stranded climbers, and a storm is expected to drop up to nine inches of snow at high elevations on Friday. Rangers are hoping that winds will subside enough on Thursday that a helicopter will be able to reach the climbers and evacuate them via short-haul. 

The National Park Service describes the route as quite difficult, saying that "Due to the committing nature of the route, its remote location, and its sustained steep angle, Liberty Ridge has the reputation of being the hardest and most-dangerous regularly climbed route on Mount Rainier."

UPDATE: The climbers were successfully evacuated via helicopter on Thursday morning during a favorable weather window. The four are alive but suffering from cold exposure, according to a press release from the Park Service.