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In a tragic accident deep in Washington’s North Cascades, four climbers attempting an emergency descent of the Early Winters Spires suffered a catastrophic anchor failure—killing three and leaving the sole survivor, Anton Tselykh, with serious injuries after a 400-foot fall.
Tselykh, 38, somehow survived the fall that claimed the lives of Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, and Oleksander Martynenko, 36—all experienced climbers from Washington. According to Okanogan County officials, Tselykh sustained internal bleeding and head trauma, yet managed to untangle himself from ropes and gear and hike out of the wilderness in the dark. After trekking three-quarters of a mile back to his car, he then drove 40 miles to the town of Newhalem, where he found a payphone and called for help. The ordeal—from fall to emergency call—spanned roughly eight hours.
While rappelling down a steep gully, the team was anchored to a single piton—likely placed by a previous party—that appears to have failed. Authorities believe the group fell roughly 200 feet into a slanted gully and tumbled another 200 feet before coming to rest.
The piton recovered at the scene was described as old and weathered, especially compared to the other, newer looking gear the group had been using. “There’s no other reason it would be hooked onto the rope unless it pulled out of the rock,” said Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez, according to CBS.
In alpine environments, the intersection of gear, judgment, and unpredictable weather can turn even familiar routes dangerous. Pitons—metal spikes driven into cracks—can remain in place for decades, but exposure to freeze-thaw cycles and time can erode their reliability. While redundancy is a cornerstone of safe anchor building, officials have yet to determine what backup, if any, was used during the rappels.
“Falls leading to multiple fatalities like this are extremely rare,” said Cristina Woodworth, head of the Okanogan County Search and Rescue team. “This is one of the worst we’ve seen in years.”
Search teams located the accident site using GPS coordinates from a tracking device the group had been carrying—data that was shared by a friend. Given the remote terrain and poor weather, a helicopter was used to extract the victims, flying through strong winds and fog to reach the site.
Early Winters Spires is considered a moderate technical climb under typical summer conditions, but spring can bring wildly variable terrain—snow, ice, and rock mixing unpredictably and adding complexity.
This tragic incident stands as a somber reminder of the stakes in big mountain terrain: never assume fixed gear is safe, always check for redundancy, and be prepared for rapid changes in conditions.
Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of Vishnu, Tim, and Oleksander—and with Anton as he begins the long road to recovery.