A massive rescue effort was undertaken to try to save the life of John Wardell after he fell down a steep slope in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area last Thursday, but darkness and bad weather stymied searchers, according to documents and interviews.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office first got the call at 7 p.m. Aug. 20 that Wardell, the Environmental Protection Agency's Montana director, was seriously injured while out climbing with a friend on the 8,700-foot Snowshoe Peak. The caller said Wardell, a seasoned climber, had head lacerations and was unconscious.

Capt. Roby Bowe, a deputy and member of David Thompson Search and Rescue in Libby, said it took Wardell's friend a few hours to get off the mountain, and that it probably was going to take four or five hours of strenuous hiking to get back to him.

";We knew that by the time we got to the area it was going to be dark, so we contacted Alert, the air ambulance operator from Kalispell," Bowe said. ";We got a Forest Service helicopter that they had on contract."

They met at the Libby airport by 7:32 p.m. and flew to Wardell's location. But the closest landing site was anywhere from one to three hours hike away, and the helicopter wasn't equipped to lower people or supplies to the ground.

";We could see him but we just couldn't get to him," Bowe said. ";It's very frustrating to know he's out there and you can't really do anything to help him out without risking your own resources."

Bowe said Wardell apparently slipped on wet beargrass and rolled, slid and fell anywhere from 250 to 500 feet, sometimes dropping off cliffs. By the way Wardell was lying, rescuers weren't optimistic he had survived the fall.

The helicopter returned to the airport at 9:44 p.m. However, rescuers continued to try to reach Wardell, this time using a helicopter from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls that had night-vision capabilities, as well as the means to lower people and supplies.

Yet even with all the high-tech equipment, the helicopter's crew couldn't find Wardell in the dark. They returned to the base at 1:17 a.m., planning to start again at daybreak.

Then a thunderstorm rolled in at 4:30 a.m., further crippling the rescue attempt.

";With the lightning, you can't put anything in the air," Bowe said.

Still, at 7:20 a.m. rescuers were headed to the trailhead and by 7:46 a.m. they were also staging at the airport.

At 12:16 p.m., the flight surgeon was on the ground and confirmed Wardell had died from injuries received in the fall. The incident was wrapped up at 7:23 p.m.

Julie DalSoglio, who worked with Wardell and knew his family for years, said they all are grateful for the rescue attempts by an estimated 25 volunteers in rough terrain and inclement weather.

";It was just a wonderful effort on the part of the folks there," DalSoglio said. ";They did an outstanding job and kept us informed."

Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com