MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK -- An injured climbing ranger was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center after falling into a crevasse while skiing from the summit.
Rainier spokeswoman Lee Taylor said 27-year-old Sam Wick suffered a leg injury and possible rib injury Wednesday afternoon. He was skiing from the summit to Camp Schurman when he broke through the snow crust and fell 40 feet into a crevasse.
Wick's climbing partner was able to pull him out of the crevasse with the help of two commercial mountaineering guides who were on the mountain at the time.
Taylor said Wick was patrolling the Emmons Glacier route, one of the most heavily used summit routes. Wick has been a Rainier climbing ranger for four years.
