For the first time since the fall that killed three, the 38-year-old Seattle man spoke by phone to an Okanogan County search and rescue coordinator.

Three climbers died in a fall while descending a steep gulley in an area near North Early Winters Spire in Washington state's North Cascades National Park, the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office said. The incident took place on Sunday, May 11, at around 11:30 a.m. and involved a party of four climbers.

SEATTLE – Three King County residents fell to their deaths while climbing in the North Cascades over the weekend, while a fourth climber survived.