WENATCHEE — Autopsies have determined that a 12-year-old Spokane boy who was mountain climbing with his father in the Cascade Mountains died from a skull fracture sustained in a fall, and that his dad suffered head injuries but died of hypothermia.
Photographs indicate that Otto Vaclavek, 53, of Spokane, may have fallen between two rocks, Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris said. He speculated that Vaclavek, an experienced mountaineer, was unable to get out from between the rocks.
Vaclavek’s, 12-year-old son, Max, hit his head on a rock when he fell and suffered blunt force trauma to the head.
“He was wearing a helmet, but the trauma was below the helmet line,” Harris said, noting that the boy probably died instantly.
The two were climbing a glacier in and likely slipped on the ice, dropping 100 to 150 feet over a cliff and onto rocks below, Harris said. The two were not roped together.
The two set out on Sept. 15 to hike over the weekend, but didn’t return home on Sept. 17 as expected. Friends and rescue workers searched for several days until the bodies were found Saturday in a gully between Colchuck Peak and Dragontail Peak, at an elevation of 7,600 feet.
Otto Vaclavek worked at Mountain Gear, a Spokane-area outdoor sports store.
Sharon Marion, wife of Otto and mother of Max, said her husband had plenty of experience climbing in the Cascades.
Sheriff Mike Harum said the Vaclaveks were climbing without anchoring themselves to the ice.
“In most cases, more than not, they (climbers) utilize those safety measures, with anchors and ropes to traverse the glacier as well as climb the face of the mountain,” Harum said.
The pair did have ice axes and climbing cleats, Harum said.
The autopsy revealed they died at least 48 hours before they were found, he said.
They were last seen by a hiker on the trail to Colchuck Lake on Sept. 15. Authorities suspect they may have fallen that same day, Harum said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
