Mount Rainier: Sisters Rescued From Ohanapecosh River

Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Sisters Rescued From Ohanapecosh River

On Wednesday, July 22nd, rangers were notified that a young woman was stranded on a boulder in the Ohanapecosh River in the southeast corner of the park. Her location on the river was just upstream of a series of rapids and Silver Falls, which has a 40-foot drop. Rivers in the park have been flowing fast and high due to seasonal snowmelt and unusually warm temperatures. Rangers responded and found 21-year-old Janel Corbett of Chattanooga, Tennessee, stranded on a boulder in the river, unable to get to shore safely. Her 23-year-old sister, Sadie Corbett, also of Chattanooga, was on the shore but was unable to climb out of the area due to vertical rock cliffs on either side of her. The sisters had decided that they would go swimming in a pool on the river well above the falls. While swimming, the current began sweeping them downstream closer to the rapids and falls. They both were able to climb onto a boulder in the river. The older sister eventually jumped to shore across the current, but her sister was unable to do so. Rangers set up a high-angle rope system to safely rescue the sister who was on the shore and to gain closer access to the sister who was stuck on the boulder. In the meantime, the Lewis County swiftwater rescue team was called in to assist with a technical rescue from the river. They were able to successfully extract the sister on the boulder. No injuries to either woman or their rescuers occurred during this incident, which took six hours to complete and involved over 20 people. Ranger Geoff Walker was IC. Click on the link below to see a fine Centralia Daily Chronicle video on the rescue, including interviews with Walker and the sisters.