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Medical examiner releases identity of climber retrieved from Mount Baker after fatal fall

A Mountain Rescue volunteer rappels onto the Easton Glacier while searching for an overdue climber. A rescue helicopter flies overhead.
A Mountain Rescue volunteer rappels onto the Easton Glacier while searching for an overdue climber. A rescue helicopter flies overhead. Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald

A deceased climber recovered from a Mount Baker crevasse Sept. 30 has been identified as Sebastian Urban, 39, of Squamish, B.C., according to Interim Whatcom Medical Examiner Dr. Aldo Fusaro.

Urban was reported missing after he failed to check in with his family Sept. 28. He had left on a solo climb the day before to Mount Baker’s Coleman-Deming route, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.

Fusaro determined the cause of death to be multiple blunt force injuries, caused by a fall from height. Fusaro also ruled Urban’s death was accidental.

According to Deb Slater with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Urban was found at the bottom of a 6-foot bergschrund, a type of crevasse, by a helicopter crew from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island around 3 p.m. Sept. 30. It is unclear how far he fell, as there were no marks anywhere near the surrounding ice.

Recovery was a collaboration between NAS Whidbey SAR, Bellingham Mountain Rescue, CBP AMO and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office SAR Deputy Coordinators.

This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 2:34 PM.

Jack Belcher
The Bellingham Herald
Jack Belcher covers transportation and recreation for The Bellingham Herald. He graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in digital journalism in 2020 and joined the staff in September 2022. Belcher resides in Bellingham.
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