A rock climber who fell a whole bunch of toes descending a steep gully in Washington’s North Cascades mountains survived the autumn that killed his three companions, hiked to his automobile at midnight after which drove to a pay cellphone to name for assist, authorities mentioned Tuesday.
The surviving climber, Anton Tselykh, 38, extricated himself from a tangle of ropes, helmets and different gear after the autumn Saturday night. Regardless of struggling inside bleeding and head trauma, Tselykh finally, over not less than a dozen hours, made the trek to the pay cellphone, Okanogan County Undersheriff Dave Yarnell mentioned.
The climbers who had been killed had been Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, Oleksander Martynenko, 36, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez mentioned. Irigireddy and Nguyen had been from Renton and Martynenko was from Bellevue, officers mentioned.
Tselykh was listed in passable situation at Harborview Medical Middle in Seattle, CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reported Tuesday. Authorities haven’t but been capable of interview the him, Rodriguez mentioned, a lot remains to be unknown of the autumn and his journey.
The Okanogan County Search and Rescue group responds to a climbing accident within the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, Might 11, 2025.
Okanogan County Sheriff’s Workplace by way of AP
Falls like this main to a few deaths are extraordinarily uncommon, mentioned Cristina Woodworth, who leads the sheriff’s search and rescue group. Seven years in the past, two climbers had been killed in a fall on El Capitan at Yosemite Nationwide Park in California.
The group of 4 had been scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks cut up by a cleft that’s well-liked with climbers within the North Cascade Vary, about 160 miles northeast of Seattle.
The group of 4 met with catastrophe that evening when the anchor used to safe their ropes was torn from the rock whereas they had been descending, Rodriguez mentioned. The anchor they had been utilizing, a metallic spike referred to as a piton, appeared to have been positioned there by previous climbers, he mentioned.
They plummeted for about 200 toes right into a slanted gulch after which tumbled one other 200 toes earlier than coming to relaxation, Yarnell mentioned. Authorities consider the group had been ascending however rotated once they noticed a storm approaching.
A 3-person search and rescue group reached the location of the autumn Sunday, Woodworth mentioned. The group used coordinates from a tool the climbers had been carrying, which had been shared by a good friend of the lads.
As soon as they discovered the location, they referred to as in a helicopter to take away the our bodies one by one due to the tough terrain, Woodworth mentioned.
The helicopter’s flight by 16 miles of rugged, mountainous terrain took longer than regular — about an hour — due to harsh climate, KIRO-TV reported. Video of the aerial restoration shared by KIRO confirmed the helicopter navigating blustery winds and fog because it made its manner towards the climbers.
Okanogan County Sheriff’s Workplace
On Monday, responders poured over the recovered gear making an attempt to decipher what induced the autumn, Woodworth mentioned. They discovered a piton – principally a small metallic spike that’s pushed into rock cracks or ice and used as anchors by climbers – that was nonetheless clipped into the climbers’ ropes.
“There’s no other reason it would be hooked onto the rope unless it pulled out of the rock,” mentioned Rodriguez, the coroner, noting that pitons are usually caught quick within the rock. Rodriguez added that when rappelling, all 4 males wouldn’t have be hanging from the one piton on the identical time, however taking turns shifting down the mountain.
Pitons are oftentimes left in partitions. They are often there for years and even many years, and so they could turn into much less safe over time.
“It looked old and weathered, and the rest of their equipment looked newer, so we are making the assumption that it was an old piton,” Woodworth mentioned.
Rock climbers safe themselves by ropes to anchors, resembling pitons or different climbing gear. The ropes are supposed to arrest their fall if they need to slip, and usually climbers use backup anchors, mentioned Joshua Cole, a information and co-owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, who has been climbing within the space for about 20 years.
Usually, it might be uncommon to rappel off a single piton, mentioned Cole, including that it’s nonetheless unknown precisely what occurred on the wall that evening.
“We eventually, if possible, would like to get more information from surviving party,” Woodworth mentioned.
The spires are a well-liked climbing spot. The route the climbers had been taking, mentioned Cole, was of average problem, and requires shifting between ice, snow and rock.
However the situations, the quantity of ice versus rock for instance, can change quickly with the climate, he mentioned, even week to week or each day, altering the route’s dangers.
Woodworth informed KIRO-TV that it’s essential that climbers are “not taking any of your equipment for granted and just always staying aware of your surroundings.”
