The allure of Mount Rainier beckons despite many deaths

Every year, 11,000 visitors try to climb to the summit.
SEATTLE (AP) -- On clear days the mountain seems to float above this city, almost beckoning hikers and climbers to its snowy peaks.
Two people have died in the past month trying to reach Mount Rainier's summit, the latest victims in a long list of novices and experienced mountaineers who have succumbed to Rainier's deadly allure.
"It's so close, it's so accessible, and yet within a couple of hours you can be in a very unforgiving environment," said Eric Simonson, an owner of Mount Rainier Alpine Guides, one of two companies that leads people to the summit.
More than 2 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park each year, an easy drive from Seattle or Portland. Most are happy to drive to the Paradise visitor's center, snap a few photos and hike around the paved trails.
But for 11,000 people a year, the visitor's center is just the starting point for attempts to reach the 14,411-foot summit -- the fifth-highest peak in the Lower 48 states.
Quite a challenge
Experienced climbers relish the challenge of Rainier, especially the treacherous Liberty Ridge route, which in recent weeks claimed the lives of Jonathan Cahill, a fire captain from Auburn, Wash., and Peter Cooley, a father of three from Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
An average of three people a year have been killed on summit attempts since 1990, but the mountain's iconic power continues to lure city-dwellers into the wild.
"It amazes me the number of people who come here specifically to climb that mountain. There are a lot of people who make that their only objective in life," said Matt Kerns, store manager of a recreational equipment store.
Cahill, a father of four who died Thursday, became the 91st climber to die on the mountain.
The sight of Mount Rainier rising out of the clouds on a sunny day has become a symbol of Seattle's outdoorsy values, and has inspired many a mountain newbie to head for the hills.
"It definitely is a cultural icon as well as a geological landmark," said Seattle historian Walt Crowley. "Before we started building giant pokey things like the Space Needle, it was THE emblem with which the city identified and promoted itself."
Underestimated
The mountain is so close to Seattle and looks so pretty, it can be easy to underestimate its dangers. Joe Wood, 34, a book editor visiting Seattle from New York, headed to Mount Rainier one afternoon in 1999 for an afternoon hike. He never returned and was presumed dead, one of six fatalities on the mountain that year. His body was never found.
"Whether you're a novice climber with a guide or an experienced climber going it along, the mountain doesn't care," Simonson said.
Tanna Osterhaus had barely worn a backpack the first time she climbed Mount Rainier. She grew up in a Seattle suburb with Mount Rainier in her backyard, and now owns an inn near the park.
Not so great view
"There's a real attraction to Rainier. I thought, 'Gosh, I need to climb that mountain,'" said Osterhaus, who reached the summit safely with a guide company.
Despite the allure, she said, the view from the top is anti-climatic. People who reach the summit are up so high, there's not much to see during the daytime.
"It's better from the bottom looking up," she said.
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