Alpenglow Ski Mountaineering History Project

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Harlin and Martin - Mount Rainier: Views and Adventures

The Climbing Rangers

p. 113: On May 24, 1999, David Persson, a Swedish telemark skier, took a fatal fall while skiing Liberty Ridge. Persson had skied the route in its entirety the previous day and had returned to do it again, this time with a partner. High on the route, his partner decided not to ski. Persson clipped into his bindings anyway and slid onto the steep slope. Near the Black Pyramid, around 12,300 feet, he lost an edge on an icy patch and tumbled out of sight down the Willis Wall side of the ridge. His body came to rest at the base of the Thermogenesis route at 9,800 feet. The author describes the body recovery by Mike Gauthier and other climbing rangers, made extremely dangerous by the threat of avalanches down the Willis Wall.

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