Officials in Okanogan County on Tuesday identified the four climbers who fell hundreds of feet while rappelling down the side of a steep gully near North Early Winters Spire on Saturday night, killing three.
Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, of Renton; Oleksander Martynenko, 36, of Bellevue; and Tim Nguyen, 63, of Renton, all died in the fall around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said by phone Tuesday.
A fourth climber, 38, of Seattle, survived, but suffered internal bleeding and a traumatic brain injury in the fall.
The survivor spent hours extricating himself before walking back to his car parked near a user trail just east of Washington Pass, authorities said. He drove 42 miles west to Newhalem, where he used a payphone to call 911 around 11:30 a.m. Sunday. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he was unable to participate in interviews, Rodriguez said. He was in satisfactory condition as of Tuesday, hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg said.
The three climbers who died all suffered blunt force injuries in the fall. All four were tied to the same previously used anchor point — known as a piton — which they found already embedded in the rock. The piton ripped out as they were descending the gully, Rodriguez said.
"They were geared up for what they were doing. They had helmets and all the right climbing equipment. Their equipment was all in good shape and new, not old and worn out," he said. "What failed is this piton pulling out of the rock."
(Frank Mina / The Seattle Times)
Climbing experts who reviewed the men's equipment and descriptions of the fall site on Monday agreed the piton was "the cause for sure," Rodriguez said. But it's unclear how the men were "roped up" before they fell.
Okanogan County search and rescue members found the men tangled in rope within the rocks and snow. Rescuers had to cut through the rope so climbers' bodies could be flown away one by one by a Snohomish County sheriff's office helicopter, making it difficult for Rodriguez to determine "who was attached to what."
"The only way are going to be able to tell that is by talking to the individual who is in the hospital," he said. "And his condition isn't conducive to us going in and talking to him right now."
The men appeared to have been ascending, with the intent of continuing up the north spire, but only made it partway before deciding to "abandon the climb" because it was getting too late, Rodriguez said. After they started to turn back, the piton failed.
© 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
