· Brochure Series
· Request a Presentation
· Members Only Site
· Event Calendar
· Document Downloads
· News Headlines
· Mission Summaries
· Photo Gallery
· Mt Hood Virtual Tour
· Newsletter
· Search & Rescue
· Climbing & Hiking
· Snow Sports
· Weather & Avalanche
· Live Cameras
· What Is PMR?
· Our Mission
· Team Structure
· Board Members
· How to Get Involved
· Application Process
· Kent Swanson, Jr.
· FAQ's
· Phone Numbers
· E-Mail Addresses
· Make A Donation
|
PMR Rescues 2 Climbers on Mt Hood's Yocum Ridge
Sunday, April 11, 2004 (Updated 04/13/04)
Early Sunday morning, members from Portland Mountain Rescue
delivered two climbers to safety, approximately 18 hours after
rescue efforts began on Mount Hood's treacherous Yocum Ridge.
The subjects, two men, called authorities around 12:30 PM PDT on Saturday to
request help after they had become stranded off their intended route and one
of the climbers injured his shoulder. A team from PMR was already on the
mountain during weekend "ready team" patrols and responded as soon
as the Clackamas County (OR) Sheriff initiated the mission. Unfortunately, the
climbers were located on Yocum Ridge, one of the most difficult climbing routes on
Mount Hood's West Face, making rescue efforts difficult and time consuming.
|
The subjects apparently had intended to climb the Leuthold Couloir
route, which is a challenging but popular route just to the South of
Yocum Ridge. Apparently, the pair strayed far left of their
intended route and ended up above the "Exit Gulley" of
Yocum Ridge. When one of the two climbers was injured and they
became stranded, the men called for help using their cell phone and
reported they were not sure if they were on Leuthold Couloir or Yocum
Ridge. This uncertainty created problems for rescuers, as locating
the pair via ground search was difficult in the craggy expanse of Mount
Hood's West Face.
Two PMR teams extensively searched the Reid Headwall and Leuthold Couloir
routes (see photo at right), but to no avail. Later in the day, a
Blackhawk helicopter from the Oregon National Guard 1042nd Medical Company
(see photo at right) flew over the area and was able to make visual contact
with the two climbers. The pair were indeed on Yocum Ridge at
approximately 10,000 feet.
Eventually, a PMR team led by Marty Johnson ascended Leuthold Couloir and
made verbal contact with the subjects. However, the snow conditions
made it too dangerous to attempt a rescue or allow the climbers to leave
their position. The warm temperatures - Portland reached a record high
of 79 degrees on Saturday - had significantly softened the snow, making
footholds and anchor points unstable, and creating a great deal of dangerous ice fall.
Under these circumstances, a helicopter extraction is usually the most feasible
option. However, an air rescue was not possible on this day due to the
notoriously difficult terrain of Yocum Ridge. Initially, a National Guard
medic was inserted on the ridge, but he quickly aborted the mission due to his
lack of experience on technical terrain. A later plan to lower a PMR team
member directly to the location of the climbers was called off because the
helicopter's rotor wash could have literally swept the subjects off the
mountain. It became clear that the subjects would have to escape their
predicament on foot.
The climbers began the descent from their position just before sunset on Saturday
evening (see photo above right). Rescuers could only provide verbal route
finding assistance, as conditions were too dangerous to send up any teams.
|
|
Reference Map #1 (Wide)
Click photo for larger view
Reference Map #2 (Close)
Click photo for larger view
PMR teams search on foot
Click photo for larger view
1042nd Blackhawk searches
Click photo for larger view
Subjects descending
Click photo for larger view
A cold night on Mt Hood
Click photo for larger view
Downclimbing Reid Headwall
Click photo for larger view
|
As darkness fell on the mountain, the PMR rescuers hunkered down on Reid Glacier
and endured a cold, uncomfortable and sleepless night (see photo above right)
while monitoring the climbers' progress.
Around 3:00 AM on Sunday, a PMR team led by Steve Rollins ascended a
portion of the Leuthold Couloir route to get as close to the subjects as
safely possible. Once the climbers reached the PMR rescuers, they
were provided with fluids to battle exhaustion and dehydration. Shortly
thereafter, the group descended onto the Reid Glacier, crossed several crevasses
and ascended to Illumination Saddle where more help was waiting. At the
Saddle, paramedics from the American Medical Response Reach and Treat (RAT) Team
delivered higher level care before the entire group descended a portion of the
South Side to meet waiting sno-cats.
Around 6:00 AM on Sunday, the two climbers and the teams from PMR and AMR arrived
at the safety of Timberline Lodge. The nearly 18-hour ordeal was over and
both subjects were fortunate to be alive and relatively well.
|
|
