2 Vancouver, Wash., men overdue on Mount St. Helens’ climb are safely down
By APWednesday, June 2, 2010
2 climbers overdue on Mount St. Helens are safe
COUGAR, Wash. — Two men reported overdue on a climb up southwest Washington’s Mount St. Helens made their way down safely Wednesday after spending a cold, wet night on the mountain.
Mark Lapinskas, 32, and Kevin Dean, 34, of Vancouver, Wash., were reported overdue Tuesday night by Dean’s wife, Lisa.
“We’re elated — just so relieved,” Lapinskas told KGW-TV of Portland, Ore., shortly after he and Dean were reunited with their wives late Wednesday afternoon.
The men said they started their climb Tuesday morning and reached the summit of the 8,364-foot peak later Tuesday. But they said they became disoriented in foggy conditions on their way down and decided to make a shelter for the night.
They found their way to a road Wednesday.
“We were just physically and mentally drained. Just to be able to find a road and know that it was over — we were just overjoyed,” Lapinskas said.
Skamania County Undersheriff Dave Cox said a deputy found their car early Wednesday at the Marble Mountain Snow Park about 10 miles northeast of Cougar. A search for them began early Wednesday. Lapinskas apologized for putting searchers to the trouble of looking for them.
The National Weather Service said Tuesday night that unusually strong storms were hitting the area, with heavy rain and strong winds.
About 13,000 people each year climb the volcano that lost 1,300 feet off its top in its cataclysmic May 18, 1980, eruption. The U.S. Forest Service said the climbing route provides views of the crater, lava dome and eruption area. Most climbers can complete the round trip in seven to 12 hours.
In February, a climber who had been posing for a picture on the rim of Mount St. Helens fell 1,500 feet into the crater and died when a snow overhang gave way. The body of Joseph Bohlig, 52, of Kelso, was recovered the next day.
