Northern Cascades, Washington: (2) Mt. Rainier. A dual accident occurred on Mt. Rainier in the early summer of 1948. J. H. Hagood was crossing a six-foot snow bridge, which collapsed. He was precipitated into the crevasse and buried under snow. He was unconscious when he was rescued, three or four minutes later, but promptly regained consciousness. Apparently at this time, one of the rescuers (M. Gilber, a member of the climbing party) slipped into a crevasse and suffered a broken ankle. He also was rescued by other members of the party, and returned to a hospital. A summer blizzard was in full swing at the time.

Source of information: newspaper account.

Analysis. The single newspaper account is vague and incomplete. Gilber is said to have fallen 200 feet (!) into a crevasse, but there is no mention of a rope. The exact location is not known, nor is it known whether the mishaps occurred on an ascent or on a descent. All in all, they would seem to have been the result of inadequate training.