Mountain climber dies in fall

The body of a man who died in a fall Sunday while climbing a rugged portion of Mount Rainier National Park was recovered Tuesday morning, park officials said. Weather conditions this morning allowed searchers to locate and remove the body in the northern part of the park. A helicopter and a ground team of two park rangers assisted in the recovery. No other information was immediately available about the victim, who was transported to the Pierce County medical examiner to confirm his identity and cause of death. Inclement weather with white-out conditions on Monday impeded efforts to locate the climber by air, according to a spokeswoman for the park. On Sunday, a group of three climbers left Carbon River to camp and climb in the Lake Crescent area. After a successful climb of The Chief (elevation 7,026 feet), one of the climbers fell during his descent, officials reported. The Chief, one of the two summits of Sluiskin Mountain, is a pronounced, rugged peak located in an isolated area just east of Windy Gap on the Northern Loop Trail.

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