View Full Version : Death from hypothermia, Mt. Rainier
A curiously written article:http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Daughter-Karen-Sykes-body-found-on-Mount-Rainier-5573023.php
Curiously written indeed... Next to no details of what actually took place and led to hypothermia. This is the type of article that I receive from friends and family quite often and simply serves to make people unfamiliar with hiking more apprehensive than they should be. Yes, there are risks that solo hikers assume in the mountains but there is usually some reason when a fatal mistake is made beyond the tone of the article which seems to be along the lines of "things happen".
rocketsocks
06-24-2014, 07:44
A curiously written article:http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Daughter-Karen-Sykes-body-found-on-Mount-Rainier-5573023.phpReally...talk about redundant and at the same time not sayin much, I found of particularly interest the part where they say they "suspended the three day search efforts after she was found"
Sounds like this women was quite the Mountaineer, thoughts to the family and friends.
Pedaling Fool
06-24-2014, 07:50
This mountain just claimed six other hikers early this month, but they still haven't found the bodies http://theadvocate.com/news/9344241-123/some-who-die-on-mount
BTW, there is some pretty good footage of the mountain in a video on the above link.
Very few details. Almost leads one to surmise that her circulation(Heart) was something she was unaware of and that combined by the weather allowed her to pass in a place she loved. My deepest condolences to her family.
Shutterbug
06-24-2014, 11:28
A curiously written article:http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Daughter-Karen-Sykes-body-found-on-Mount-Rainier-5573023.php
One can only speculate about what happened because so few of the actual facts have been released to the media. The facts and my suspicions:
Facts from various news stories:
1. She was an experienced hiker and was familiar with that trail and that area.
2. She was carrying enough gear to survive the night.
3. Her body was found on a steep slope.
4. Her body was found "off trail."
5. She was hiking above the snow line.
6. The cause of death was "hypothermia."
My suspicions based on my knowledge of Mt. Rainier and the facts:
1. She must have fallen and tumbled down the slope. A hiker with her level of experience would not have just lost the trail.
2. She must have been injured in the fall. Otherwise, she would have used her survival gear.
One other interesting fact -- on the same day that she was lost, another hiker on Mt. Rainier was rescued after using his Spot to call for help. I can't help but wonder if this story wouldn't have ended differently if she had been carrying a Spot or an inReach with the tracking feature activated.
A sobering reminder that it doesn't have to be winter to fall victim to hypothermia.
Wayne
Shutterbug
06-24-2014, 12:00
This mountain just claimed six other hikers early this month, but they still haven't found the bodies http://theadvocate.com/news/9344241-123/some-who-die-on-mount
BTW, there is some pretty good footage of the mountain in a video on the above link.
A slight correction -- The six who were killed were "climbers", not hikers. On Mt. Rainier, they make a distinction between those of us who hike and those who rope together to climb to the top. The six who were lost were climbing to the summit.
Their bodies have been located. They had avalanche beacons that were activated. The bodies have not been recovered because they are in an unstable area. To attempt recovery would place additional people at risk.
You can climb without rope - rope is sometimes called "a suicide pact" for this very reason.
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The Cleaner
06-24-2014, 18:07
A few years ago I was hiking up a 4 mile jeep road to access the AT. This jeep road gains almost 2000ft in the 4 miles. This was around the 3rd of July and a cold front had passed the night before. Needless to say I was soaked in sweat when I arrived at an overlook near the end of the trail. It was 58* and I was starting to chill in the breeze at the overlook. I had to take off everything and put on camp clothes while my other stuff dried a little while I had my lunch. One can become hypothermic at any time of the year at the higher elevations in the backcountry. Condolences to her family.
colorado_rob
06-24-2014, 19:12
Sad to see such things happen, but I don't see a thing wrong with the article other than it's mostly just a personal account of the fallen lady. The article clearly says they simply don't know how she died other than the actual bodily cause (hypothermia). The article also mentions nothing about climbing and refers to hiking throughout the article, so I really don't believe she was climbing the mountain, though of course this doesn't preclude a nasty fall.
I like shutterbug's analysis other than to point out that this time of year up there anyone, even the very, very experienced can lose the trail and their way (because of course of leftover snow which hangs long into July in that park). Older folks, like perhaps this lady, sometimes tend to shun the newer technology like GPS's and SPOT's, and sure, these devices might have saved her, but who knows.
On the actual mountain (Rainier), most routes involve heavily crevassed glaciated terrain and the main reason people rope up in such terrain is to catch a crevasse fall; those buggers are sometimes totally invisible just waiting for the lead climber to step on the thin cover of snow; this happened to me on Denali, I went in about 15 feet until my team's rope caught my fall. So normal climbing on crevassed terrain roped up is not generally referred to as a "suicide pact", much more of a "survival pact". "Suicide pacts" happen when climbers rope up in very steep terrain, hoping to catch a fall if one climber slips and falls. If they don't catch such a fall, of course, everyone goes down. This happens sometimes, sadly, and it's a tough call sometimes as to rope up or not. None of this appears to have anything to do with this poor fallen lady.
We have very little info about the cause of the accident, but generally this happens because of cascading errors, not just one. A wrong turn, a fall, bad weather, poor timing, lost gear, caught after dark, dead batteries in the flashlight, cell phone, gps, the hypothetical list goes on and on.
This can happen to any of us.
Shutterbug
06-24-2014, 21:39
A curiously written article:http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Daughter-Karen-Sykes-body-found-on-Mount-Rainier-5573023.php
An article in another paper had one additional fact: "Exact circumstance of Syke's death are unknown, but she apparently fell ..."
This is the only report that I have seen that confirms my theory. I believe she fell and was injured. That would explain why she was unable to use her survival gear.
Here is a link to the article: http://www.dispatchnews.com/201/06/24/body-confirmed-as-missing-hiker/
mad4scrapping
06-27-2014, 21:48
This is the way I want to die. I'm not kidding. I want to go out with some noise. I know it's selfish of me to put my family through this, but this is what I want. But later, when I'm much older.
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Shutterbug
06-27-2014, 22:06
This is the way I want to die. I'm not kidding. I want to go out with some noise. I know it's selfish of me to put my family through this, but this is what I want. But later, when I'm much older.
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I understand what you are saying. There are ways to go that are a lot worse. And, I know a lot of younger people who would say, "She was 70 years old and lived a full life." From my perspective, being the same age as she was, she had a lot of life yet to live.
When I die, I want it to be because I have squeezed every possible minute and every possible mile out of this body.
Snowleopard
06-29-2014, 15:01
My condolences to those who knew Karen Sykes. Shutterbug may be right that the hypothermia was triggered by an injury from a fall.
Falls are much more dangerous for those of us who are older. There is research in Occupational Safety on ladder falls. The conclusion is that the older we get the more severe the injuries and greater the chances of death. Over 65, the chances of the fall being fatal are 8 or 9 times greater than for those in their 20s and 30s. Even falls from not very high can severely injure those over 65. Falls that a young person will walk away from can severely injure someone of my age.
So, be more careful as you get older. For myself, I've decided to reduce use of ladders at home and to be a little more cautious hiking where a fall is possible. I will continue to hike on pretty much any trail in the northeast.