Crews resume search for Mount Hood climbers
GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. - Rescuers who camped out on Mount Hood set out at daybreak Monday to try to reach three climbers who fell from a snowy ledge and were huddled in sleeping bags and cuddled with a dog amid ferocious wind and blowing snow.
"They are on the move," Russell Gubele, coordinating communications for the rescue operation, said of the rescuers.
Other rescue teams also were on the way to the site, which is believed to be around the 8,300-foot level on the 11,239-foot mountain. The rescuers, about 30 in all, were hoping to beat a snow storm expected later in the day.
The three climbers, two women and a man, fell on Sunday. They are believed to be good shape. Rescue officials were in frequent cell phone contact with them.
'Extremely treacherous'
Rescuers were moving into the White River Canyon, where the climbers took shelter behind rocks during the night. They were moving cautiously because of a "very severe avalanche danger," Gubele said.
Gubele said the rescue teams hoped to get to the climbers before noon. "We are all over the place up there trying to get to where they are," he said.
Teams had reached the general area earlier Monday, battling wind up to 70 mph, but decided to wait until daybreak because they couldn't see anything, Gubele said, and "it's extremely treacherous up where they are. One false step could be not good."
The three who fell were part of an eight-person party that set out on Saturday, camped on the mountain that night, and then began to come back down on Sunday when they ran into bad weather, officials said.
As they were descending, the three slipped off a ledge and fell about 100 feet. Someone in the party placed an emergency call to authorities.
The sheriff said the group was thought to be well equipped and have GPS capabilities, cell phones, mountain locator units and adequate climbing essentials.
The three had gotten into their sleeping bags to stay warm.
"They also have a Labrador dog with them that is cuddled up with them to help them keep warm," Gubele told AP Broadcast News. "My understanding is that they are experienced rock climbers, but not necessarily experienced in mountain climbing."
Still, officials were worried.
"There's always danger of exposure on Mount Hood," Gubele said.
"They're wet, shivering and cold," said Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's office.
Relatives of the climbers said the black Lab was named Velvet, Gubele said.
Sgt. Sean Collinson, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's office, said the two women appeared to have suffered some bumps and bruises and their male companion is in good condition. He said all three "were in fairly good spirits when we talked to them on the phone."
Five climbers rescued
The five rescued climbers were taken down to Timberline Lodge, a ski resort at the 6,000-foot level of Mount Hood, and all are reported in good condition, the sheriff's office said in an e-mail.
At a news conference at the lodge, one of the rescued climbers, Trevor Liston, of Portland, said he was optimistic for companions still on the mountain: "So far, they're doing pretty good up there from what we've heard."
Liston said he saw the three fall but didn't say how it happened.
The mountain can be treacherous, particularly in the winter. In December, search teams scoured Mount Hood for days in the hopes of finding a group of missing climbers alive. The bodies of Brian Hall, of Dallas, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, of New York, have not been found. Another climber in their group, Kelly James, of Dallas, died of hypothermia.
In the past 25 years, more than 35 climbers have died on the 11,239-foot mountain, one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world.
Re: Crews resume search for Mount Hood climbers
Looks like they'll be ok....
-Brian in SLC
GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. - Three climbers stranded on Mount Hood after a fall were rescued Monday after spending the night amid ferocious winds and blowing snow.
"Their condition is very good at this time," Russell Gubele, coordinating communications for the rescue operation, told CNN.
"They were located in the area where their mountain locator units suggested that they were, and we finally got some of our rescuers down there to them," he said. "They are fine. They are being warmed up right now and fed by our rescuers."
The three well-equipped climbers, two women and a man, fell off a ledge Sunday.
Gubele said the three were not badly injured and could walk out of the area themselves. "They're going to walk down," he said, adding that authorities hoped to pick them up with a rescue vehicle.
He said the three were found huddling with their dog Velvet. They had sleeping bags and mats, he said, and were under some rocks, huddled up trying to keep warm.
Gubele said the climbers' mountain locator unit helped rescuers find their position and they stayed in contact because the climbers had a cell phone.
"We knew where they were," he said. "The weather was really bad. It was a matter of getting the teams down there to them, which we were finally able to do in these severe weather conditions and extreme avalanche conditions."
Rescuers were hoping to get the three out before another storm, with 12 to 16 inches of snow, was due to arrive Monday.
Earlier Monday, rescuers moved into the White River Canyon, where the climbers took shelter behind rocks during the night. Some of the rescuers spent the night on the mountain. They decided to wait to set out until daybreak because with winds up to 70 mph, they couldn't see anything, Gubele said, and "it's extremely treacherous up where they are. One false step could be not good."
The three who fell were part of an eight-person party that set out on Saturday, camped on the mountain that night, and then began to come back down on Sunday when they ran into bad weather, officials said.
As they were descending, the three slipped off a ledge and fell about 100 feet. Someone in the party placed an emergency call to authorities.
The three had gotten into their sleeping bags Sunday to stay warm and cuddled up with their black Lab, Gubele said.
"They also have a Labrador dog with them that is cuddled up with them to help them keep warm," Gubele told AP Broadcast News. "My understanding is that they are experienced rock climbers, but not necessarily experienced in mountain climbing."
Still, officials were worried.
"There's always danger of exposure on Mount Hood," Gubele said.
The five other members of the their climbing party were rescued Sunday and taken down to Timberline Lodge, a ski resort at the 6,000-foot level of Mount Hood, and all are reported in good condition, the sheriff's office said in an e-mail.
Liston said he saw the three fall but didn't say how it happened.
The mountain can be treacherous, particularly in the winter. In December, search teams scoured Mount Hood for days in the hopes of finding a group of missing climbers alive. The bodies of Brian Hall, of Dallas, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, of New York, have not been found. Another climber in their group, Kelly James, of Dallas, died of hypothermia.
In the past 25 years, more than 35 climbers have died on the 11,239-foot mountain, one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world.
Re: Crews resume search for Mount Hood climbers
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian in SLC
Looks like they'll be ok....
:2thumbs:
