Two climbers are safe after being stranded on Mount Rainier last weekend during a storm. Mount Rainier National Park officials reported Monday that the climbers were rescued Sunday and, despite spending two nights in freezing single-digit temperatures, climbers were ambulatory and in stable condition. The climbing team was overtaken by extreme weather after reaching the summit June 17 and starting their descent. They dug a snow cave and waited out the weather at an elevation of 14,300 feet, which is just below the crater rim at the mountain's peak. Officials said the climbers activated their SPOT locator beacon twice on June 17. Adverse weather delayed a search until early in the morning of June 19, when clearing weather permitted an aerial search by a helicopter contracted by the park. The climbers were rescued from 13,500-feet part of the mountain known as Disappointment Cleaver. Mountain rescue teams from Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and the Olympic region participated in the search and rescue along with an Army Reserve air unit.
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