Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office. Credit: Facebook
Three men were killed after falling 400 feet while abseiling in Washington’s North Cascades on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
The sole survivor, Anton Tselykh, 38, managed to hike through the mountains and drive over 60 miles to find a payphone and call for help, despite suffering serious internal injuries and head trauma.
Tragedy in the Early Winters Spires
The accident happened in the Early Winters Spires, a popular climbing area in the North Cascade mountain range, around 160 miles northeast of Seattle. Authorities say the group of four climbers had turned back due to worsening weather and were descending a steep gully when their piton rope system failed.
According to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office, the group fell about 200 feet through the air, then tumbled another 200 feet over rock, snow and debris. The fall was reportedly caused by the failure of a piton, a small metal spike used as an anchor in rock climbing, which appears to have been torn from the wall.
The three climbers who sadly died have been named as Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, and Oleksander Martynenko, 36.
All were from the Seattle area, according to the county coroner via CNN.
Anton Tselykh, the only survivor, managed to untangle himself from the wreckage and hiked through the rugged terrain in the dark to reach his car. He then drove west covering about 60 miles across the Cascade mountain range, before finding a payphone to call emergency services.
“He didn’t realise he had as significant of internal injuries as he did,” said Undersheriff Dave Yarnell [via Climbing Magazine], adding that Tselykh initially refused medical help.
Authorities say Mazama, a town just 15 miles east of the mountain, was much closer, but Tselykh may not have known the area well. “He took the long route,” Yarnell said. “He spent at least an hour or more driving over the Cascade mountain range.”
Rescue crews used coordinates shared by a friend of the group to locate the climbers. A three-person team reached the site on Sunday and called in a helicopter to recover the bodies due to the difficult terrain.
Woodworth added that they hope to speak with Tselykh in more detail once he recovers.
The route the climbers were descending is considered moderate in difficulty but includes snow, ice and rock – making it susceptible to rapidly changing conditions.
Climbing expert Joshua Cole, who has two decades of experience in the region, said it’s unusual to rely on a single piton for abseiling, especially given the risks involved.
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