Washington Firefighter Loses Life Climbing On Mount Rainier
Three Mount Rainier National Park rangers racing to beat a snowstorm on the 14,411-foot peak recovered the body of Aaron Koester, 21, from the 11,600-foot level with the aid of a helicopter late Monday morning.
His roommate and climbing buddy Matt Little, 23, was buried up to his neck by the avalanche Sunday, managed to free himself and frantically dug out Koester, but it was too late, said Little's mother, Theresa Little of Monroe.
She said her son told her that he and Koester were roped together when then the avalanche hit and he landed on top.
``He really did try to save his friend,'' she said. ``He uncovered Koester's face and knew he was gone.''
``He was a very brave young man, and I appreciate everything he did,'' said Koester's mother, Kathy Howe.
There are usually few climbers on the 14,411-foot mountain at this time of year because of the likelihood of harsh weather.
Park spokeswoman Patti Wold said the two were on Ingraham Glacier, 11,000 feet up the mountain, practicing for an ascent of Mount McKinley in Alaska when they followed a snow ramp into a crevasse near Disappointment Cleaver.
They were walking out on another ramp when it collapsed, Wold said.
Little's head and one arm remained above the snow, but it took him half an hour to dig himself out before he could turn to his friend.
Once he determined that Koester was dead, Little descended to Camp Muir and used a radio to call for help, contacting a hunter near Naches who called park rangers.
``Matt is lucky to be alive,'' said Michael J. Gauthier, the park's lead climbing ranger.
Three rangers flew to the scene by helicopter Monday and retrieved Koester's body.
Koester, the fifth climber and the second firefighter to die on Mount Rainier this year, ``loved the beauty of the mountains, the challenge of it,'' his friend Tyler Firchau said Monday. ``He loved being in God's creation.''
Both men were experienced climbers. Koester had scaled Rainier once and Little twice. In five days last year they climbed Mount Hood in Oregon and Mounts Shasta and Whitney in California.
Koester ``kind of liked to push the limits of everything he did,'' said his father, Bruce Koester of Monroe. ``He's going to be sorely missed. Everywhere he went, he made friends.''
The day before Koester left for Mount Rainier, he applied for a full-time job with the Monroe Fire Department after two years as a volunteer working nights and weekends.
Monroe firefighters wore black stripes across their badges and lowered the flag of Station 31 to half-staff Monday, and a photograph of him grinning while hanging from a ladder truck was placed up near his gear.
The previous deaths this year on Mount Rainier occurred during the spring and on the Liberty Ridge route.
Ansel Vizcaya of Missoula, Mont., and Luke Casady of Stevensville, Mont., both of Montana, died in an avalanche in late June. Auburn Fire Capt. Jonathan Cahill died June 3 and Peter Cooley of Cape Elizabeth, Maine died in a fall on May 15.
There have been 94 recorded deaths of climbers on the mountain.