3 climbers who perished in NW fall were skilled, ‘very strong,’ friend says

What to Know About the 400-Foot Fall That Killed 3 Climbers and the Sole Survivor Who Trekked Out

Four rock climbers fell several hundred feet while descending granite spires in Washington, leaving only one survivor who hiked out and told a 911 dispatcher that his companions were dead and he could “hardly breathe,” according to a recording obtained on May 15 by The Associated Press. Anton Tselykh, 38, had plummeted an estimated 400 feet on the evening of May 10, suffering internal injuries and head trauma. By the morning of May 11, more than…

3 climbers who perished in NW fall were skilled, ‘very strong,’ friend says

All were friends of Robert Riethmiller, who climbed with them in a Meetup group he helped organize. For him, their deaths created a “big void.”