Mount St. Helen’s Climber Died From Fall

When the national news first picked up on the story of fallen Mount St. Helens climber/hiker John Bohlig, there was still some hope that this was a rescue situation, instead of a recovery. Tragically, that turned out not to be the case, and after a day of delays due to weather his body was recovered from the crater where he fell. The unanswered question then became, did Bohlig die from the fall or did he possibly die due to exposure while awaiting rescue?

Today that question was answered by an official of the Skamania County coroner’s office when he said injuries from the fall were the “obvious” cause of death, and an autopsy would likely not be performed.

This is a tough story to digest, and appears to be a situation where one decision – one misstep, almost quite literally – cost this climber his life. At the top of the mountain Bohlig and his partner took off their packs and decided to take pictures. As Bohlig backed up to the edge of the crater for a photo, the snow he was standing on gave out.

Without being there it is impossible to know how close to the lip of the crater he was and how preventable this could have been, but his friend’s description of the accident really paints a horrible image.

“Boom. It busted off, and I saw him clawing for the edge with a startled look on his face, and then he disappeared,” Salkovics, an Army Reserve helicopter pilot, told KGW. “I was looking right at him. He was only 10 feet away … then he just disappeared.”

- CNN

Our thoughts are with Mr. Bohlig’s family and friends.