A rock climber survived a 400-foot plunge at a Washington state national park – a fall that killed his three friends – and then drove to a payphone even with horrific injuries Saturday.
Anton Tselykh, 38, managed to hike in the dark to his car and then drive to the phone to call for help over a span of nearly 12 hours while suffering internal bleeding and head trauma, officials said Tuesday.
The group of four initially dropped about 200 feet into a slanted gulch and then went down another 200 feet before finally coming to a stop at the North Cascades mountains, Okanogan County Undersheriff Dave Yarnell said.
Three climbers from Renton, Washington, died over the weekend after falling during a climb in North Cascades National Park. Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The responders learned that a party of four climbers from Renton, which is a suburb of Seattle, were involved in a fall while descending a steep gully, the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office said. Okanogan County Sheriff OfficeTselykh found a way to escape a web of ropes, helmets and other climbing equipment before he began his trek for help.
Vishnu Irigireddy, 48; Tim Nguyen, 63; and Oleksander Martynenko, 36, were identified as the three killed in the fall, according to the Okanogan County Coroner’s Office.
The deadly accident at the Early Winters Spires in the North Cascade Range happened when the group’s anchor used to secure their ropes tore from the rock as they were attempting to climb down the mountain, officials said.
The group was likely turning around when they saw a storm coming up, according to authorities.
The three fatal victims were found Sunday, while the lone survivor remains hospitalized.
Each body had to be removed one at a time because of the rough terrain, officials said.
A piton, which is a metal spike that is wedged into rock crevices, was also found still clipped to one of the climbers’ ropes.
“There’s no other reason it would be hooked onto the rope unless it pulled out of the rock,” county coroner Dave Rodriguez said.
A preliminary investigation has determined that the accident happened after an anchor failed while the climbers were rappelling down the steep terrain, though the investigation is still ongoing. NurPhoto via Getty ImagesCristina Wooworth, who leads the sheriff’s search and rescue team, added that the piton “looked old and weathered.”
“And the rest of their equipment looked newer, so we are making the assumption that it was an old piton,” she said.
Tselykh has yet to be interviewed by authorities.
“This terrible climbing incident has brought global attention to the climbing world,” the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office said. “Please respect the feelings of all those affected by this tragedy.”
With Post wires.
