Six missing US climbers are feared dead in Washington state after searchers located their equipment on Mount Rainier.

“There is every indication there is not a viable chance of survival,” Mount Rainier National Park ranger Fawn Bauer.

“It’s a sad day.”

Bauer said crews spotted the climbers’ equipment from the air scattered in the snow at the base of a more than 915-metre drop leading to a deep chute and steep slope.

The area is prone to rock slides and avalanches, according to the ranger.

The six were last spoken to on Wednesday by satellite phone, the report added. Searchers tried from Friday through Saturday to locate the group, including two guides.

The mountain, an active volcano towering 4392 metres is the state’s highest.