Mt. Hood Climber with Ankle Injury
Saturday, May 20, 2007

Early morning on Sunday, May 20^th Portland Mountain Rescue was asked to assist with a climber with a possible broken ankle who was at around 9600 ft, on the South Side route of Mt Hood.  One PMR member already on the mountain rendezvoused with a group of climbers that were assisting in splinting the injured ankle and they were able to quickly evacuate the climber to the top of the Palmer where a snow cat could reach them.  Because there were enough resources already on the mountain helping with the injured climber, additional PMR teams were kept on stand-by.  Around 9:30 am the injured climber was successfully evacuated off the mountain without further need of PMR involvement. 

Lower-leg injuries such as this are fairly common in mountaineering because crampons worn on climbers’ boots can catch on ice or loose clothing.  In this case, the evacuation went quickly and smoothly because members of the injured climber’s party, as well as other climbers nearby, had the necessary equipment and expertise to render first-aid and protection from the weather.