Official says it’s ‘miraculous’ climber survived fall off Washington mountain that killed 3 others

One mountain climber’s survival is being called “miraculous” after a 200-foot fall onto jagged rock in Washington state Sunday that killed the three other men in his group.

One man, Anton Tselykh, 38, from Seattle, will live to tell the tale of an apparent anchor failure that sent him and his climbing group plunging 200 feet down the North Early Winters Spire area of the Cascades, then sliding uncontrollably another 200 feet down a chute, before collecting as a group, severely injured and tangled in their climbing gear.

The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office released the identities of the four men Tuesday. Those that died are Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, from Renton; Tim Nguyen, 63, from Renton; and Oleksander Martynenko, 36, from Bellvue.

Those three men suffered massive leg and cranial traumas, Okanogan County Undersheriff David Yarnell told NBC News. Tselykh, somehow, did not have any broken bones, but has internal injuries and head trauma.

“It is truly amazing that he came out with the injuries that he did,” Yarnell said. On Wednesday, Yarnell said, Tselykh is in stable but critical condition.

The head trauma, Yarnell said, may have caused Tselykh to become disoriented after the fall, “and may have led him to make some not-so-good decisions as he tried to self rescue.”

Tselykh passed out after the fall, Yarnell said, and woke up around 10 p.m. — hours after Yarnell estimates the group fell. Instead of using GPS communication devices to get help, Yarnell said Tselykh walked from the climbing area — “crawling and feeling around in nearly pitch darkness” — to his car.

He then drove west over the mountain range when he should have gone east, to Winthrop, where there would have been emergency services, Yarnell said, noting “either a lack of knowledge of the area or disorientation to make that decision.”

“It’s pretty amazing. It is definitely amazing,” Yarnell said. “The fact that he had a head injury, a severe head injury and internal bleeding, it is just amazing that he was able to make his way back to the highway and then get in his car and drive.”

During the drive, Yarnell said Tselykh collided with a guardrail, becoming unconscious again. Once he woke up for the second time, he continued his drive to his intended destination.

Tselykh’s survival “is miraculous to say the least,” Yarnell said.

Yarnell has not spoken to Tselykh to confirm any details, but said officials believe he must have been the person closest to the ground when the anchor point failed and the four men fell, a shorter distance perhaps the reason for his survival.

Deep snow cover in the spot Tselykh landed also could have contributed, Yarnell said.

A fifth member of the climbing group couldn’t join this trip. Yarnell said he’s the person who called in a missing persons report when the group was overdue.

Yarnell said the climbers were off to a slow start but began their ascent. Around 5:30 p.m. — which Yarnell said is late to be on the mountain — they decided to reverse course as a weather system moved in.

“It seems that they were trying to hurry to get back down the mountain so they were on solid ground before it, before they lost all available lighting,” Yarnell said.

Ultimately, Yarnell said officials believe the group’s anchor point, which holds the line used to rappel down a mountain, failed.

Search and rescue groups found what Yarnell called a “weathered piton,” or metal stake, still attached to the group’s main line, but Yarnell was quick to note “this is in no way concrete evidence of what failed.”

Yarnell said officials believe the piton may have been the issue, though. The area is “highly used,” meaning many climbers leave behind equipment, like pitons embedded in the rock. The piton attached to the group’s line, he said, “appeared to have been out in the weather for quite some time.”

Rescuers believe this piton was left by a prior climber, Yarnell said, but they don’t know how long it has been in the rock.

“When you experience severe weather changes like we do here in Washington state, the rock itself can degrade and break away, so the fact that a piton is left doesn’t always mean that it’s safe,” he said.

The climbers’ experience level was unknown, but Yarnell acknowledged that even experienced climbers have accidents. His advice? Do your research.

“Know where you are going. Know what the conditions are. Have a plan. Make sure you have relayed that plan to someone back at home,” he said. “If you go into this situation and you are unprepared, we can’t guarantee we are going to get there in time.”