EVERETT – Members of Snohomish County’s oldest climbing club are trying to come to terms with a tragedy that killed three Puget Sound-area climbers, and, in the process, have reinvigorated a culture of safety in the organization.
About 30 group leaders and instructors from the Everett Mountaineers met Tuesday to review a report on last summer’s Sharkfin Tower accident in which the climbers died.
The Everett group, one of seven branches of the 100-year-old Seattle-based Mountaineers, asked questions about what really happened on the Boston Basin climb. Using what they learned will enhance safety for the future, club member Rob Simonsen said.
“We’re re-evaluating our teaching, our learning points, and emphasizing how to do things differently and do things more safely,” Everett branch chairman Matt Vadnal said.
The 133-page report was self-published by the Mountaineers. The document draws heavily on a National Park Service investigation, interviews with survivors and firsthand visits to the accident site.
It found that catastrophic anchor failure led to the Sharkfin Tower deaths.
The climbers tied onto a boulder that was then dislodged by their combined weight and the way climbing gear was attached to the rock.
In great detail, the report reconstructs the events leading up to and following the accident.
On July 10, 2005, six climbers from the Tacoma Mountaineers branch set out to climb the 8,120-foot peak.
Sharkfin Tower is a granite pinnacle, popular with climbers, that sits on a ridgeline between Sahale Peak and Forbidden Peak in the north Cascades.
High on the mountain, the climbers went up the wrong gully. While trying to regain the route, one climber, Johanna Backus, was hurt by falling rocks.
In the effort to evacuate Backus, the climbers set up a system to rappel back down the gully. Two climbers would essentially cradle Backus between them and carry her out.
The climbers used nylon slings to a create a rappel anchor on a large boulder. The rock was estimated to weigh between 8,400 and 12,700 pounds – or about 5 tons.
Using climbing gear, they began to descend the gully on ropes.
Two climbers were sent down first, one at a time. Both made it down the gully successfully.
Then the two climbers with Backus between them started down.
Investigators believe the three descending climbers’ weight and the angle of the ropes dislodged the boulder. The climbers and their rock anchor were sent tumbling about 300 feet down the gully.
Killed in the accident were Backus, 61, of University Place, Mark Harrison, 34, of Bellevue, and John Augenstein, 42, of Seattle.
A fourth climber, Wayne McCourt, 32, of Tacoma, was seriously injured. He has since recovered.
The other climbers were not injured. They found help from a nearby climbing group, one member of which had a cell phone.
Park rangers and search-and-rescue crews arrived early the next morning, and the group was evacuated by helicopter.
Steve Costie, executive director for the Mountaineers, said fatal accidents are rare but do happen.
The Sharkfin Tower accident was the group’s worst ever.
Earlier this year, two members of the Everett Mountaineers died.
In February, Dale Godsey, 48, of Lake Stevens died when he fell in a gully on Mount Dickerman; in May, Larry Ingalls, 63, also of Lake Stevens died when he slipped and fell on Lewis Peak.
Although neither man was on a Mountaineers-sponsored trip, their deaths still were felt in the local climbing community, Vadnal said.
During Tuesday’s meeting, members discussed several ideas for improving safety.
More experienced people need to be more careful to consider every precaution: Ensuring backup systems are in place, revising training programs and making use of technology are key, he said.
None of the Sharkfin Tower climbers had cell phones or Global Positioning System devices, Vadnal said. Now, cellular or satellite phones and GPS devices are likely to become required equipment for the Mountaineers’ trips.
The electronic tools can expedite emergency response and might prevent expeditions from having to take unnecessary risks, he said.
Costie said similar meetings to review the Sharkfin Tower report will take place throughout the club, in part to help members come to closure, in part to brainstorm how to improve the Mountaineers.
“This is the way this club will operate for another 100 years, evaluating what we’ve done, and moving forward and making sure we’re always using best practices in our outdoor recreation programs,” Costie said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@ heraldnet.com.
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