Body recovered on Mt. Rainier

A climber fell on Disappointment Cleaver on Aug. 22.

By Ray Miller-Still • August 25, 2022 10:51 am
About 50 percent of people who climb Mt. Rainier via Disappointment Cleaver make it to the summit. Photo courtesy National Park Service
About 50 percent of people who climb Mt. Rainier via Disappointment Cleaver make it to the summit. Photo courtesy National Park Service

A Mt. Rainier climber’s body has been recovered from the mountain.

Chun Hui Zhang, 52, of Surrey, British Columbia was seen by witnesses take a “substantial fall” while making his way down the Disappointment Cleaver route on Aug. 22.

The Canadian was reportedly on a private, recreational climb with friends.

Mountain climbinb guides were and National Park Service rangers were unable to locate Zhang after he fell.

His body was located the following day, and recovered using a helicopter.

Guides and staff from International Mountain Guides and Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. provided valuable assistance with the incident, a NPS press release reads.

Disappointment Cleaver is the most popular summit route on Mr. Rainier; about 75 percent of all summit attempts take this path, and about 50 percent of those climbers succeed. Common hazards include icy slopes and crevasse falls.