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PMR Rescues Injured Climber from Mt Hood's Crater
Friday, July 23, 2004
Friday afternoon, members of Portland Mountain Rescue and paramedics
from the American Medical Response Reach and Treat Team rescued an
injured climber from the crater of Mount Hood.
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The 20-year-old male subject fell while descending a steep portion
of the Hogsback, a ridge between 10,400 and 11,000 feet in the peak's
crater. The man did not fall into the Bergschrund crevasse, but
did tumble several hundred feet down into a gully on the West side of the Hogsback.
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Click graphic to enlarge
Mt Hood Reference Map
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Fortunately, he was able to stop the fall before reaching a large
fumarole (volcanic vent) in the area.
Though an Oregon National Guard Blackhawk helicopter was on scene at
Timberline Lodge, rescuers chose to evacuate the climber via the
ground. The man was packaged in a rescue litter with backboard
and lowered progressively down the mountain.
PMR rescuers used their
"Hogsback Kit", a
lightweight rigging system used to lower litter-packaged patients down
the relatively mild slopes of the Mount Hood's South Side. In a
rescue such as this one, successive lowering stations are created every
300 feet. Though the Hogsback Kit is an efficient method, it still
takes a considerable amount of time to cover the 1-1/4 mile distance from
the Hogsback to the top of the Timberline Ski Area at Palmer Snowfield.
The condition of the patient is reportedly stable and the overall
rescue took into the early evening.
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