Experienced climber Joseph Bohlig plunged some 1,500 feet into the crater of the Mount Saint Helens volcano on Monday after a cornice of snow he was standing on suddenly collapsed.

The 52-year-old, who had climbed the volcano 68 times, slid down a wall of rock and ice but attempts to reach him late Monday were held up by high winds and low cloud cover, Skamania county sheriff's office said.

Bohlig's body was eventually recovered on Tuesday afternoon after a helicopter from Naval Air Station at nearby Whidbey Island was able to reach the man, undersheriff Dave Cox told AFP.

"They descended down and determined he was deceased," Cox said. "They pulled him from the rockface and recovered his body.

"He is now en route to the medical examiners office. It is too early at this stage to pinpoint the cause of death."

It was not clear how long the climber had been dead but a helicopter crew which had spotted Bohlig's body on Monday said there was no movement before bad weather and fading light halted the rescue effort.

Strong winds and concerns over avalanches and rockfalls hampered rescue efforts earlier Tuesday before the helicopter was finally able to descend.

Witnesses cited by The Oregonian newspaper said Bohlig's body was partially buried and needed to be dug out before it was loaded into the helicopter.

Mount Saint Helens, roughly 96 miles (154 kilometers) south of Seattle, erupted violently in 1980, leaving 57 people dead and destroying more than 250 homes in the most destructive volcanic incident in US history.

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