Ashford, Wash.
Rescuers in a helicopter plucked an injured climber and his companion off a steep slope on Mount Ranier this week, but the injured man died before reaching a hospital. Peter Cooley of Maine, an experienced climber, injured his head when he fell 30 feet on a dangerous route up the 14,410-foot mountain. His climbing partner, Scott Richards, 42, tried to stabilize Cooley while rescuers scrambled to reach them, but whiteout conditions kept them away for two days. Cooley’s aunt, Kristi Witker of New York City, said that in their last conversation she pleaded with Cooley to take up a less dangerous sport. “You’ve been so lucky and nothing’s ever happened,” she told him, “but luck runs out.”
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