Six climbers feared dead on Washington's Mount Rainier

It's too dangerous to search for the bodies of six climbers who likely plummeted to their deaths while attempting one of the more technical and physically grueling routes to the peak of Mount Rainier in Washington state, park officials said Sunday.

Like others who have died on the mountain, there's a possibility the two guides and four climbers believed to have fallen 3,300 feet from their last known location may never be found, they say.

"People are very understanding that we cannot risk another life at this point," Patti Wold, a Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman, said Sunday.

Under safer conditions, crews could go in after the bodies. "The families, I'm sure, would like that closure," Wold said. But continuous falling ice and rock make the avalanche-prone area too dangerous for rescuers, she said.

The climbers were last heard from at 6 p.m. Wednesday when the guides checked in with their Seattle-based company, Alpine Ascents International, by satellite phone. The group failed to return Friday as planned. 

On Saturday rescue crews for Mount Rainier National Park came across climbing and camping gear in snow more than 3,000 feet below the last known position of the group and also picked up distress signals from their avalanche beacons, said Fawn Bauer, a Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman.

The climbers appear to have fallen or got caught in an avalanche of snow, rock and other debris, Bauer said. No bodies have been located, she said. Avalanches had also occurred in the general area.

"We don't believe there was a viable chance for survival," Bauer said. The climbers' gear was found at about 9,500 feet on a steep and dangerous area of the mountain, she said.

If confirmed, it would be the deadliest accident on the mountain since 1981 when 11 climbers were killed in an avalanche on Ingraham glacier on Rainier's southeast side, the Seattle Times reported.

The climbing party, including two guides from Seattle's Alpine Ascents International, set off on Monday for a five-day ascent along the north face of the glacier-streaked mountain. On Wednesday evening, the party reported via satellite phone that they had reached an elevation of 12,800 feet in the Liberty Ridge area, Bauer said.

All was fine, they said, although they noted some bad weather seemed to be moving in, according to Bauer. Their plan was to hike to the top of the mountain on Thursday, she said.

"This accident represents a horrific loss for our guide partners and the families and loved ones of every one of the climbers lost on the mountain," Randy King, superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park, said in a statement Saturday night. "The climbing community is a small one and a close one and a loss of this magnitude touches many."

A rain and hail storm swept through lower elevations of Mount Rainier National Park from late afternoon to early evening on Wednesday, with snow at higher elevations, she said.

Alpine Ascents' website describes the Liberty Ridge hike as "one of the most technical and physically demanding climbs” in the lower 48 states."

The company contacted the park service on Friday afternoon to report the hikers missing, Bauer said. They were due back that day and the park service waited until first light on Saturday to begin searching, she said.

The park service dispatched a helicopter with two climbing rangers on Saturday and three additional rangers were doing a ground search on Liberty Ridge, Bauer said. Even crevasses were searched for the missing climbers.

Bauer could not give details about the hikers' identities. An employee with Alpine Ascents declined to comment, referring questions to the park service.

An active volcano, Mount Rainier rises 14,410 feet above sea level and dominates the Seattle skyline. It is one of the world's most popular climbs, with about 10,000 climbers visiting every year. Since 1897, 89 people have died while summiting the mountain.

Al Jazeera and wire services