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Seattle man dies rappelling off Dewey Peak at Mount Rainier National Park

By Stacia Glenn, The News Tribune
Published: August 16, 2018, 7:36pm

A climber died this week while rappelling off a peak in Mount Rainier National Park, officials said.

Stephen Kornbluth, 35 of Seattle, summitted 6,710-foot Dewey Peak with two friends Tuesday after climbing the mountain’s west face.

That route is a Class 3 scramble, which requires some technical skill, on the east side of the park about 3 1/2 miles south of Chinook Pass.

Kornbluth’s two partners rappelled safely before he started to come down. It’s unclear what caused Kornbluth to fall. Rangers are investigating, park spokesman Kevin Bacher said.

Kornbluth’s partners immediately called 911 and activated an emergency beacon before descending to where he landed. He was unresponsive when they found him.

Search teams were unable to reach the scene until Wednesday morning due to difficult terrain. They recovered his body with a helicopter.

Kornbluth was a basic alpine climbing student with The Mountaineers branch in Olympia, joining a year ago and completing basic navigation and wilderness first aid courses.

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