A spokeswoman for the Mount Rainier National Park says a 52-year-old climber died on the mountain Tuesday after falling into a crevasse.

Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman Lee Taylor says Lee F. Adams of Seattle was part of a four-men crew descending the mountain on Emmons Glacier when the final person on the rope tripped and fell.

The climbing crew was then swept off its feet and fell in into a Crevasse. Two climbers landed on a false shelf and were not injured, a third man fell farther and hurt his knee and Adams was killed instantly, Taylor said.

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The three surviving climbers were able to climb out of the crevasse to reach Camp Schurman at 9,450 feet Tuesday night and contacted a climbing ranger.

Two of the climbers, along with a climbing ranger, made their way down the mountain Wednesday. The injured climber was picked up by a chopper at Camp Schurman and declined to be taken to a hospital.

Park rangers retrieved Adams’ body Wednesday afternoon.

Ellis Adams said his brother was an avid climber and had more than 30 years of experience, including climbing Mount Rainier many times. He described Lee Adams as extremely safety conscious and very careful.

What happened on the mountain "was an accident, pure and simple," Ellis Adams said.

He went on to say that no one is to blame for the incident and that there are risks involved in climbing.

Lee Adams had a Ph.D. and was a microbiologist; climbing was his hobby, Ellis Adams said. He was born and raised in Maine near the south Freeport area.

“Lee died doing what he loved to do,” Ellis Adams said.

He is survived by his parents, brother, sister and nephew.