On Wednesday, January 21, 2009 -a husband and wife team- were ascending Mt Hood, traversing from the Hogsback over to the Mazama Chute, when suddenly ice broke free from the cliffs above them and struck the woman causing her to tumble 400 feet before coming to a rest at a depression on the west side of the Hogsback. Another team of climbers nearby witnessed the accident and called 911.

PMR arrived at Timberline around 12:00 pm and sent 14 rescuers into the field shortly thereafter. When the teams arrived at the scene, it was confirmed that the woman was deceased. Rescuers packaged the woman's body in a liter then, using a system of ropes and anchors, lowered her down to the top of the Palmer snowfield at 8500 feet where she was loaded into a snow cat.

All personnel were out of the field at approximately 8:00 pm.

A unique weather pattern called an inversion has brought unseasonably warm temperatures to the upper reaches of the mountain. These warm temperatures combined with the winter ice build-up can increase risk of falling ice.