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Lost Ice Climber on Mt. DickermanSnohomish, WA Mission Report by Jeff Sharp The Unit was contacted by the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management on Monday Feb 20 at 1:15 A.M. to help Snohomish County SAR in the search for a lost climber on Mt. Dickerman after his family reported that he was overdue to return from a hike Sunday evening. Three members who had completed the National Incident Management System (NIMS) course responded. They were Jeff Sharp O.L, Greg Lang, and Mark Cooksley. They met at the Cache at 3:00 A.M. The team arrived at the search base on the Mt. Loop Highway just before 6:00 A.M. As Jeff was checking in with the sheriff’s deputies, it was radioed in that the body of the climber had been found. A 52-year-old climber had attempted to climb 5,723-foot Mount Dickerman. He had fallen about 600 feet down a gully at about 3,500 feet, just 30 feet from where rescuers found the body of another experienced mountaineer, on Feb 10. The trail on the mountain is steep, with multiple switchbacks, and can be treacherous. It was also reported that water had recently frozen in this section of the trail due to several consecutive days of below freezing temperatures. Members of the Unit had been involved in the search for two Everett teenagers who fell to their deaths in 1991 in the same area during a school outing. After some discussion it was decided to airlift the body out using a Snohomish county helicopter. The sheriff also asked our team to remain on the scene and assist until the body had been removed and rescuers were safely off the mountain. They returned to the Cache around 1:00 P.M. |
