Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 12:26 PM

Mount Rainier climber killed after fall into crevasse
Lee F. Adams, 52, was killed Tuesday on Mount Rainier when he slid into a crevasse high on the Emmons Glacier.

By Susan Gilmore

A climber was killed Tuesday on Mount Rainier when he slid into a crevasse high on the Emmons Glacier.

Lee F. Adams, 52, a noted local climber, was descending from the summit with three others when the last person on the rope tripped and fell, according to a Mount Rainier National Park news release. He was climbing with a friend and two of his friend's sons from Texas.

The four were swept off their feet and, after unsuccessfully trying to stop their fall, they slid into a crevasse at 13,000 feet.

The first two climbers landed on a false floor and sustained minor injuries. The other two, including Adams, fell farther. One sustained knee injuries and Adams, the last person into the crevasse, died in the fall.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012469884_rainierclimber29m.html

Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Climber Dies In Fall Into Crevasse

A climber died Tuesday on Mount Rainier high on the Emmons Glacier. Lee F. Adams, 52, of Seattle was descending from the summit as part of a four-man team when the last person on the rope caught his crampon on the snow, tripped and fell. The four climbers were swept off their feet and, despite attempts to arrest the fall by digging their ice axes into the snow, they fell 100 feet and plummeted into a 35-foot-deep crevasse. Adams, the last person into the crevasse, died in the fall. The three surviving climbers scrambled out of the crevasse and made their way back to Camp Schurman, the high camp at 9,450 feet, arriving at 3:00 p.m. They spent the night there in the company of a climbing ranger. On Wednesday, climbing rangers were dropped off by helicopter on the summit of Mount Rainier and climbed down to the accident site at 13,000 feet. They retrieved Adams’ body from the crevasse and it was airlifted off of the mountain by helicopter. Two of the surviving climbers were able to hike out on their own (accompanied by a climbing ranger) and the third was flown off of the mountain. The incident commander was Nick Hall.