Climbers rescued from Mt. Rainier after three days in snow

Park Rangers successfully rescued four climbers on Mount Rainier by helicopter Thursday morning.

They'd been stranded 13,000+ feet up on the mountain since Monday.

The four climbers, men in their 30s, are recovering from exposure to the cold but are otherwise awake and alert. They're being treated at Harborview Medical Center.

It took days to rescue them because of the weather: sustained winds of 50 miles an hour and thick clouds.

Lori Wisehart is an information officer who helped with the rescue effort. She says a break in the weather allowed a search and rescue helicopter through. And she says the climbers themselves were another big help.

"The location that the climbers were found was a bout a half mile from where we last saw them, and they were in a place that was much less affected by the wind and more accessible to rescue", says Wisehart.

"So those climbers contributed greatly to their own successful rescue."

The four men were hiking Mount Rainier when they became stranded near the top of the difficult, Liberty Ridge climbing route. That elevation is snow-covered and in below freezing temperatures. The National Park Service received an emergency call from the group Monday.