Climbing Victim Was Stanwood Man

SEATTLE - A man who died after sliding 1,000 feet down a sloping field of ice and snow on Guy Peak near Alpental in eastern King County has been identified as John Hughes, 46, of Stanwood, Snohomish County.

King County police said Hughes and two companions, a man, 39, and a woman, 35, both from Seattle, were sliding down the slope using their ice axes as brakes, a common practice for climbers on the 5,600 foot peak.

Hughes apparently could not control his descent and accelerated past his companions, crashing into rocks at the bottom of the slope, police said.