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Laura Vecsey
Seattle People Examiner
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Showing entries for Category: Death
Snowfield Where Mount Rainier Climber Died Is Danger Zone
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The death of climber Eduard Burceag, 31, from exposure Monday on Mount Rainier is prompting park rangers and those in the climbing community to call him a hero. Burceag sacrificed himself as he lay in back of his 31-year-old wife, Marianna Burceag, to protect her from the 70-mph winds that swept across the Muir snowfield. Marianna and the couple's friend, David Vlad, 37, went for a day hike on Monday and became trapped during extreme weather conditions.The heartbreaking part of the story is that Marianna asked officials not to notify her mother-in-law of the tragedy. She wanted to tell the news herself. Eduard Burceag was a software developer at Active Voice. They lived in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle.
Today, in order to fully appreciate what it takes to even attempt a climb up Mount Rainier, I've been reading climbing condition reports and instructions on how best to navigate a summit attempt. Here are words of caution from the Mount Rainier Climbing blog maintained by a group of pros climbers, headed by Mike Gauthier, an artist and climber who has a great website: Crevasse.com. Some early season questions about Rainier climbs are addressed here.
These are daunting words for anyone, let alone landlubbers like those of on the ground, wondering what it must have been like up there Monday, when the weather down here at sea level turned wicked. Read these instructions and see what kind of person it takes to consider this climb:
"Mistakes in navigation while traveling to or from
Camp Muir during storms and "white-outs" have
resulted in lost climbers and hikers and fatalities.
To decrease the possibility of this happening to
your party, this map shows compass bearings to
and from Camp Muir (true and magnetic north)
as well as prominent landmarks. This map will
not substitute for a USGS topographic map.
Proper bearings alone will not ensure a safe
trip. Camp Muir and the Muir Snowfield are
nearly surrounded by glaciers: the Nisqually
Glacier to the west, the Cowlitz Glacier to the
north and east, and the Paradise Glacier to the
south and east. A minor error in navigation may
lead you onto these glaciers where there are
numerous crevasses and other hazards. Stay
on course. You may have to correct your
direction of travel to the windward due to strong
winds, usually out of the west or southwest.
Always beware of steep cliffs to the east of
Camp Muir and Anvil Rock and to the east of
McClure Rock. These cliffs, obscured by snow
and cornices in the winter, have been the sites
of mountaineering tragedies. Panorama Point
is a dangerous avalanche area.
While traversing the Muir Snowfield, approach
rock islands with care because of holes which
form around rocks as snow melts. Crevasses
occasionally open up on the snowfield in the
vicinity of Anvil Rock in late summer and may
be hidden by snow."
Topics: Mount Rainier , Death , Muir , Climbers , Moun Rainier
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Topics: Mount Rainier , Death , Climbing , Muir , Rainier , Climbers
