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Snowboarder Dies on Mount Hood's North Face
Friday, May 24, 2002
The Memorial Day Weekend holiday got off to an tragic start on
Friday when a snowboarder's lifeless body was recovered from the
North Face of Mount Hood.
According to news reports, the victim, a 30-year-old Argentine National, and
a friend spent Thursday evening on the 11,239-foot summit of Mount Hood with
plans to snowboard down the South Side climbing route. However, early
Friday morning, the victim made a last minute decision to attempt the
extremely difficult Cooper Spur route on the Northeast side of the
mountain. This decision cost him his life.
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Evidently, the man successfully completed a few turns on his snowboard and
then fell on the 50+ degree slope. Unable to self arrest, the boarder
tumbled out of control over 2,000 vertical feet down the rocky and ice covered
mountain. He landed on the upper portion of the Eliot Glacier, just
below its bergschrund at approximately 9,100 feet above sea level. The
victim's friend, still on the summit, immediately called the Hood River
County Sheriff to report the accident.
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Click photo to enlarge
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A descriptive graphic of the accident site.
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Sheriff's deputies spotted the victim, lying motionless and still bound
to his broken snowboard, from their plane during mid morning. Around
noon that day, a Pave Hawk helicopter from the Air Force Reserve Command
939th Rescue Wing's 304th Rescue Squadron dropped two rescuers onto the
upper portion of the Eliot Glacier to retrieve the victim's body.
Reports state that, amazingly, the snowboarder left his climbing equipment
at the summit - even though he planned to climb back up the Cooper Spur
route after completing his run. This steep North side route is very
dangerous to ascend without proper climbing gear, including an ice axe
and belay devices.
Skiing or snowboarding off the summit of Mount Hood requires a great deal
of skill, and it is advisable to use safety equipment, such as a helmet
and self arrest devices. Skiing or snowboarding the South Side
route is rather common, but it is quite unusual for persons to attempt
the Cooper Spur route on the North Side of the mountain. In this
case, the attempt proved to be fatal.
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