A P-8A Poseidon assigned to the "Skinny Dragons" of Patrol Squadron (VP) 4 flies near Washington state’s Mount Baker during a training exercise, May 22, 2017. The squadron is stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash. (Juan S. Sua/U.S. Navy)
(Tribune News Service) — Two climbers were trying to reach the top of a snowy mountain in Washington when they slipped and fell, rescuers said.
Rescuers received a call at about 11:20 a.m. June 3 from the north face of Mount Baker, the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island said in a news release.
The men had set out to reach the summit that morning, but they fell during the trek, the Navy said.
A 62-year-old man lost his “boot/crampon” in the fall, and the men became stranded on the steep mountain, rescuers said.
The Navy search and rescue team got to the climbers by air within about 20 minutes because they had been doing a training exercise at the time, rescuers said.
The climbers were taken from the mountain and flown to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, the Navy said.
Mount Baker is a “glaciated volcano” in the North Cascades mountain range, according to the Washington Trails Association.
The mountain can be seen from as far as Seattle on a clear day.
Climbing to the summit requires “technical expertise with high-altitude snow and ice.”
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