Harvard Climbers Assist in Rescue Of Four Syracuse U. Mountaineers

Four members of the, Harvard Mountaineering Club, past and present, were in the rescue team yesterday that reached the climbers from Syracuse University who had been missing near Mt. Washington since the week-end. William L. Putnam '45, a former president of the HMC, led the rescue party.

The three other Harvard climbers were Peter T. Carman '64, Larry W. Muir '65, and Matthew Hale, Jr. '66. The fifth member of the group was Dr. Harry McDade, a specialist in treating frostbite.

The missing students had weathered the storm in the Edmands Col shelter on Mount Jefferson. When the bad weather broke early yesterday morning they were spotted simultaneously from the Glen House, the center of the searching operation, and from a light plane.

At 8 a.m. the Harvard group started its trek to the shelter. Meanwhile the plane dropped a note to the missing students instructing them to leave the shelter. The two groups met on the side of Mount Jefferson at 10:30 a.m.

A navy helicopter arrived 45 minutes later and airlifted both groups off the mountain in four trips.

Carman reported that the missing students were in good condition. "They wanted to make the trip off the mountain on foot," he said, "but we were afraid of bad weather in the afternoon and decided to use the helicopter."

The United States Forest Service selected the Harvard students for the rescue attempt because of their extensive experience in climbing above the timber line in cold weather and their familiarity with the White Mountain area. The three undergraduates had made a similar trek with the Mountaineering Club last week.