The body of a climber who plunged 1,500 feet into the crater of Mount St. Helens in Washington was recovered yesterday afternoon. On Monday afternoon, 52-year-old Joseph Bohlig, an experienced mountaineer had reached the summit of 8,365-foot (2,550 meter) Mount St. Helens for the 68th time with his usual climbing partner Scott Salkovics. Bohlig took off some clothes and his pack and then asked Scott to take some photographs of him on the crater rim.
Salkovics told news reporters that Bohlig told him to make sure that he got Mount Rainier to the north in the photo. A second later the massive overhanging cornice or wind-blown snow shelf that Bohlig was standing on gave way, dropping him 1,500 feet down steep snow slopes in the crater.
Scott Salkovics, an Army Reserve helicopter pilot, recounted the event: "Boom, it busted off and I saw him clawing for the edge with a startled look on his face and then he disappeared. I was looking right at him, he was only 10 feet away." Salkovics, realizing there was nothing he could do, tossed Bohlig's parka, an emergency beacon, and food and water down the slope to his friend and contacted rescuers. The supplies, however, did not slide all the way down to Mr. Bohlig, essentially marooning him without a warm jacket.
Rescuers, including helicopters from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Coast Guard, attempted to reach Mr. Bohlig, who was still alive and blowing an emergency whistle. Deteriorating weather conditions, including wind, snow, and fog kept rescuers from reaching him, although one climbed 500 feet up steep snow slopes above the crater floor but he turned back because of rockfall. Bohlig apparently died during the night. His body was recovered on Tuesday afternoon by a Navy helicopter. The Skamania county coroner Peter Banks says an autopsy will not be performed since there was no foul play and it appears Mt. Bohlig died of injuries from the fall or from hypothermia.
Cornices, unsupported overhanging shelves of snow, are one of the greatest dangers that mountaineers face in the high mountains. Cornices usually build up on leeward sides of slopes where the wind sweeps over a mountain ridge. The cornices on Mount St. Helens are large, overhanging the crater as much as 20 feet. Experienced climbers almost never venture onto cornices without first checking how much they overhang and without a rope. The Mount St. Helens National Monument website warns climbers about cornices: "The crater rim is precipitous with drops of more than 1,000 feet to the crater floor. A snow cornice develops in winter and often lasts well into summer. Take great care, as portions of the rim may be unstable year-round. Stay off the snow cornice!"
Joseph Bohlig's accident is indeed tragic. The best climbing lesson to be learned is to always be alert and never get lulled into complacency. The mountains are harsh and bad things can happen to good people at any time. My condolences to his friends and family.
More About Mount St. Helens
Climbing at Mount St. Helens National Monument
Real-Time Mount St. Helens Volcano Cam
Photograph above: Joseph Brolig, killed in a fall from the crater rim of Mount St. Helens, in happier times in Ecuador a few months ago. Photograph courtesy Scott Salkovics
Comments
Horrifying, and tragic. But from the little we know about Joseph, he sounds like a man who really lived those 52 years. May we all be able to say the same, no matter how short our time here, when it all ends.
Thank you for a very good and accurate summary of this incident that doesn’t simply regurgitate the wire reports from journalists that know nothing about mountaineering. Although as usual – and beyond your control – there is no detailed account of the efforts that were made to rescue Mr. Bohlig. Such details are typically withheld from the media for reason not worth going into here, but I can assure readers (very second hand based upon reports I’ve read) that everything possible was done to affect a successful rescue.
Climbing a mountain reaches people to the depth of their soul, but the mountain is indifferent to our presence.
What a tragic accident. My condolence to Joseph Bohlig family and friends.
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