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PMR Rescues 5 Climbers from High on Stormy Mt Hood
Sunday, January 12, 2003
(Updated January 13, 2003)
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Late Sunday afternoon, a 4-person team from Portland Mountain Rescue
located and rescued a group of five stranded climbers in a snow
cave high on stormy 11,239-foot Mount Hood.
The climbers, all from Portland-area climbing club
The Mazamas,
had set out on Saturday to climb a challenging West face route. However, the
excursion took longer than expected and a strong storm descended on the mountain
before the subjects could get down to safety. With darkness falling and
heavy snow and high sustained winds creating blizzard conditions, the climbers were
unable to find the proper route down the mountain. Rather than risking a
nighttime descent or wandering into avalanche terrain, the subjects decided to dig
a snow cave near 11,100 feet to ride out the storm. That evening, when some
of the men became slightly hypothermic, the party decided to call 9-1-1 and request
assistance.
The climbers were experienced mountaineers and carried three important safety
devices - a cell phone to call for help, a GPS receiver to give the exact
coordinates of their location and a Mountain Locator Unit (MLU) transmitter to
provide a second means of locating the party.
PMR carries a MLU receiver and regularly trains in its use for locating
climbers in trouble on Mount Hood.
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Click to Enlarge
An ice covered PMR rescuer battles the blizzard conditions.
Click to Enlarge
The subjects and PMR rescuers gather
before descending to safety.
Click to Enlarge
One of the rescued climbers with evidence of the foul weather.
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MLU's are rental devices that are unique to Mount Hood. The program was started
and is overseen by the Mountain Signal Memorial Fund based in Portland, Oregon.
After receiving the emergency call Saturday evening, the
Clackamas County (OR) Sheriff
mobilized a search and rescue (SAR) mission and contacted PMR
and the Reach and Treat (RAT) team from
American Medical Response.
The two groups responded just after midnight on Sunday morning, but the SAR Coordinator
decided that waiting for daylight was the best option. As a precaution, the
SAR Coordinator also mobilized multiple SAR units from the area, including
Corvallis Mountain Rescue,
Eugene Mountain Rescue,
Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue,
the Hood River Crag Rats
and the Washington County (OR) Sheriff's Office.
Just after 5:00 am, a Timberline Lodge Sno-Cat loaded with PMR and AMR rescuers
left for the top of the ski area. From the staging area in the
Palmer lift house at 8,540 feet, two PMR teams left for the upper
reaches of the mountain. At first light, a 4-person
"hasty" team left with minimal equipment to attempt to locate the
subjects as quickly as possible. About 90 minutes later, a 6-person
"support" team carrying technical rescue
equipment and gear to battle hypothermia left for the mountain's
crater, about 1,000 vertical feet below the summit. The AMR team
remained behind with several PMR members waiting to learn if the
subjects needed medical treatment.
The strong storm, which blew in Saturday afternoon, had deposited
1-2 feet of new snow over a sun-melted and rain-glazed base, making
the upper mountain a recipe for avalanche. The 4-person PMR
team, consisting of Rescue Leader Marty Johnson, Iain Morris, Mike
Ochsner and Nick Pope, carefully assessed the snow conditions of the upper mountain
and chose a safe route to the Hogsback ridge within Mount Hood's
crater.
From the Hogsback, the PMR team used the climbers' GPS coordinates
and the audible signal of their MLU transmitter to quickly locate the snow
cave. The rescuers ascended through the Pearly Gates, near the
summit, and West to the subjects' shelter.
Fortunately, the 5 stranded climbers were ambulatory and able to descend the
standard climbing route with the help of the PMR hasty team. From
there, the group carefully navigated the Hogsback Ridge to just East
of Crater Rock and the waiting PMR support team. After
energizing with some much needed food and liquids, the entire group
of 15 people descended the 2,500 vertical feet to the Palmer lift house and a
waiting Sno-Cat bound for the safety of Timberline Lodge.
Due to the relatively good health of the subjects, the third rescue
team, composed of PMR rescuers and AMR paramedics, was able to turn
back before they reached the scene. None of the subjects required
hospitalization.
PMR would like to note that, though weather conditions were far from
satisfactory, the climbers did exactly what they were supposed to
do. When extreme winter weather caught them off guard, the
subjects hunkered down in a snow cave and tried to wait out the
weather. When the weather would not break and the subjects
became concerned about their health, they called for help.
Additionally, the fact that they had a cell phone to communicate with the
authorities and two means of locating their whereabouts - a GPS receiver
and a MLU transmitter - significantly shortened the time needed to complete
this difficult rescue.
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