Bandera Mountain, WA

 Bandera Mountain(5,200'), WA

This is a great day hike and rated as one of the most popular hikes next to Mt. Dickerman.  Less than an hour drive from Seattle you can be on trail. The trail is well maintained and offers a variety of terrain and vistas - treeline, waterfall, lakes, the Cascades range.  It's a relatively short hike - 7 miles RT, however, be confident that you are "fit" and not acrophobia because you must negotiate a pretty steep and rocky trail part of the way to reach the summit, gaining 1,000' in a mile.  The reward of that is the spectacular and breathtaking vistas at the top.  The trail also gives you some other options to choose....hike down to Mason Lake or take the route to Mt. Defiance if you wish. Due to wild fire in eastern WA, the sky was a bit hazy with smoke above 5,000 feet, but it was a beautiful sunny day over all, and the hike was TWO THUMBS UP!  Highly recommend.

Driving Directions: From I-90 take exit # 45. Go left onto Forest Service road 9030. Continue on 9030 and then veer left onto Forest Road 9031. Road 9031 is a gravel road and dead-ends at the Ira Spring trailhead that accesses Bandera Mountain and Mason Lake trails.

 

Three bodies found of four Mt. Rainier hikers lost in January

Related - Four hikers missing on Mt. Rainier

Third body found of four Mount Rainier hikers lost in January

Two bodies were found on mountain Friday 

Web reporter Q13 Fox News Online

8:03 a.m. PDT, September 12, 2012

TACOMA —

Two bodies found on Mount Rainier were identified Monday and Tuesday as belonging to two separate parties who ventured onto Rainier in January and failed to return.

The first body belonged to Michelle Trojanowski, 30, of Atlanta. She had gone snow camping on the mountain in January with a companion when a blizzard struck.

The body of Trojanowski's companion, Mark Vucich, 37, of Agoura Hills, Calif., was found Aug. 16 under melting snow near the Camp Muir climbing route at an elevation of about 8,000 feet.

Trojanowski was found on the edge of a large crevasse near the top of the Paradise Glacier, at about 8,200 feet elevation and less than a mile northeast of where Vucich was found, Mount Rainier National Park officials said.

The Olympian reports that the second body recovered Friday was that of Eunsork Yang, 54, of Springfield, Ore. He had been hiking with the fourth hiker lost in January, Seol Hee Jin of South Korea, who is still reported missing.

 

Bodies Of Two Climbers Recovered From Glacier At Mount Rainier National Park

Submitted by NPT Staff on September 8, 2012 - 11:54am 

The bodies of two climbers have been found on a glacier at Mount Rainier National Park, a month after melting snow uncovered the body of a climber missing since January.

The bodies, that of a woman and a man, were recovered from the Paradise Glacier on Friday, park officials said Saturday. It was presumed the two were part of a party of four climbers who failed to return from an outing in January. 

The body of Mark Vucich was found back on August 6 near the climbing route on the Muir Snowfield, about half a mile above Pebble Creek at about 8,000 feet elevation, park spokesman Kevin Bacher said Saturday.

"The bodies recovered yesterday are likely members of the same group of climbers," he added.

Search efforts for the fourth climber were continuing Saturday.

The discovery of the two bodies was made by rangers ferrying supplies to Camp Muir.

"While conducting routine resupply operations to Camp Muir by helicopter, a body was spotted hanging over the edge of a large crevasse on the Paradise Glacier southeast of Anvil Rock," Mr. Bacher said. "In addition, camping and climbing gear could be seen strewn across the bottom of the crevasse. The body was partially buried under about 5 feet of snow and clearly had been in place for some time. The site is about a quarter mile east of the standard climbing route and on the other side of a ridge, at about 8,200 feet elevation."

After the woman's body was recovered Friday, a man's body "was recovered from under the snow nearby. Both individuals were transported by ambulance to the Pierce County Medical Examiner, who will determine their identities and causes of death," the park spokesman said.

Rangers were to return to the area Saturday, "both on foot and by helicopter, to further investigate what appears to be a large campsite buried under the snow on the edge of the crevasse, in hopes of finding clues to explain what happened and, ultimately, lead to the fourth missing climber," said Mr. Bacher.

Man's Body Found As Snow Melts Away At Mount Rainier National Park

Submitted by NPT Staff on August 8, 2012 - 7:18am 

Melting snow on Mount Rainier has revealed a man's body at an elevation of about 8,000 feet, leading park officials to wonder if it might be of one of four climbers lost during a storm back in January.

The body was spotted on Monday by a party coming down the mountain from Camp Muir. It was seen about a half-mile above Pebble Creek, and appeared to have been under the snow for some time.

Four climbers were reported missing on the mountain in January. Searchers spent a week looking for them, but were hampered by a series of potent storms that dropped feet of snow.

Thirty-seven-year-old Mark Vucich, of San Diego, and 30-year-old Michelle Trojanowski, of Atlanta, Georgia, had planned to winter camp on the Muir Snowfield on the weekend of January 14-15, with a return on Sunday, Jan. 15, according to park officials.

A second party of two climbers, Sork (Erik) Yang, 52, of Springfield, Oregon, and Seol Hee Jin, 52, from Korea, on a summit attempt via the Disappointment Cleaver route was due back Monday, January 16th, officials added.

At the time, park officials figured the parties had simply "dug in" to get out of the storms and await better weather.

Mount Rainier rangers on Tuesday brought the man's body down off the mountain. His identity will be determined by the Pierce County Medical Examiner. No other evidence or bodies were found in the search area.

Park officials say warm weather is expected to continue rapidly melting snow in the area over the next month or two, which may uncover evidence related to the missing climbers. The search for the four missing climbers is still active and ongoing on a limited basis. Searches are conducted during scheduled flights in the park and as crews are in the area. The park is interested in hearing from anybody that sees any items that may be associated with the missing climbers.