MOUNT RAINIER -- A Bellevue man who intended to spend only the day hiking on the slopes of Mount Rainier died Tuesday after being caught in a blizzard that injured two others in his party, including his wife.
The three experienced mountaineers set out Monday for a day hike to Camp Muir at 10,188 feet, but were trapped in the blizzard on the way back down.
Park rangers wanted to call in helicopters to bring the survivors down from Camp Muir, but decided that snow and strong winds would delay the rescue until Wednesday morning at the earliest.
Park rangers learned of the emergency at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday when hikers were able to get through on an emergency call. By then, they were "stuck in a blizzard with 70 mph and 5-foot snow drifts," said Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher.
Read it all especially the part at the end about hiking essentials. It is easy to make a mistake by not carrying a little survival gear.
My condolences to their friends and family.
Update: Wensday morning the survivors were air lifted off the mountain.
Update 2: The hikers have been identified.
The three, all from the east Seattle suburb of Bellevue, were Mariana Burceag (Boo-cho'), Eduard Burceag (Boo-cho') and Daniel Vlad.
Mount Rainier park spokesman Kevin Bacher (Baa'-ker) says Eduard Burceag - Mariana's husband - died of exposure on the mountain. The spokesman said the dead hiker's body was being removed from the mountain Wednesday afternoon.
Update 3: It appears that Eduard worked hard to save his wife and friend.
Rescue rangers are calling a Bellevue man who died on Mount Rainier Tuesday a hero whose sacrifice may have saved the lives of his wife and friend. Eduard Burceag, 31, died after the three day-hikers were trapped by a blizzard that hit mountain Monday.
The hikers dug a trench to escape the snow and 55 mph winds, and Burceag lay in the bottom with his wife, Mariana, 31, and friend, Daniel Vlad, 34, on top of him, incident commander David Gottlieb said.
In this position, he would have taken the brunt of the punishment, Gottlieb said. When his friend and wife tried to rotate positions with him, he refused, Gottlieb said.
The three, who were natives of Romania, were experienced climbers. Eduard Burceag and Vlad both worked as engineers.
Much more information at the link.
Also, a Baltimore connection.
GLEN ELG, Md. (WJZ) ― A Howard County teen who graduated high school on Friday is returning home from his first attempt to climb Mount Rainier a hero.
Mike Schuh reports Collin Lyons, 18, and his father were climbing Mount Rainier in Washington when a freak snowstorm hit. Collin's mother tells Eyewitness News that had their expedition not been lashed together, they would have been blown off the mountain.
Update 2: A memorial fund has been set up.
Friends and colleagues of Eduard Burceag, the Seattle software engineer who died Tuesday on Mount Rainier, have established a special fund for his family.
Donations can be made to the Burceag Family Assistance Fund at any Bank of America branch.
Burceag, 31, died protecting his wife and a friend. They had been hiking when they were caught in a blizzard that produced 70 mph winds.
He was trying to use his body's warmth to protect his wife from the cold.
Burceag worked at Seattle-based ActiveVoice, a communications company.
Contributions will support the care and education of his two sons, who are 5 and 3, said Jordan Rubin, ActiveVoice spokesman.
For more information about the fund, call Bank of America at 206-585-4825.
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