A rock climber who fell hundreds of feet descending a steep gully in Washington’s North Cascades mountains survived the fall that killed his three companions, hiked to his car in the dark and then drove to a pay phone to call for help, authorities said Tuesday.
The surviving climber, Anton Tselykh, 38, extricated himself from a tangle of ropes, helmets and other equipment after the fall Saturday evening. Despite suffering internal bleeding and head trauma, Tselykh eventually, over at least a dozen hours, made the trek to the pay phone, Okanogan County Undersheriff Dave Yarnell said.
The climbers who were killed were Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, Oleksander Martynenko, 36, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said.
The most recent models of cell phones can now send texts and SOS by satellite. I assume the SOS is like 911 and doesn’t need the special subscription.
But if you’re doing high-risk activities in a remote area, you should really have a spotter, a Garmin inreach, or both.
I know. But it’s a big question here in Washington whether or not we want to add cell towers on / near Mount Rainier because they do not have service.
Most people don’t keep up with the most recent model.