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Both climbers suffered injuries in the fall. One of the injured climbers was able to call 911 using a cell phone and used a Garmin inReach device to notify an emergency contact. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office set up a command center at Timberline Lodge. They were assisted by volunteer search teams from Portland Mountain Rescue, the Hood River Crag Rats, and Mountain Wave Emergency Communications. Sunday night, rescuers tried crossing the upper Reid Glacier and climbing the couloir to reach the injured climbers, but they were unsuccessful. The strong winds were knocking rescuers off their feet and blowing heavy...

Starting on June 7th, FEMA will be conducting a large scale drill that has been named “Cascadia Rising” that will simulate the effects of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone and an accompanying west coast tsunami dozens of feet tall. According to the official flyer for the event, more than “50 counties, plus major cities, tribal nations, state and federal agencies, private sector businesses, and non-governmental organizations across three states – Washington, Oregon, and Idaho – will be participating”. In addition to “Cascadia Rising”, U.S. Northern Command will be holding five other exercises simultaneously. According to the...

PORTLAND -- The U.S. Geological Survey and the Cascades Volcano Observatory hope to install four volcano monitoring stations on the upper flanks of Mount Hood.

New research on Mount Hood in Oregon suggests that volcanoes can come up with liquid hot magma in as little as a couple of months, but most of the time, they contain magma that has been kept cool for thousands of years. "If the temperature of the rock is too cold, the magma is like peanut butter in a refrigerator," said Adam Ken, an Oregon State University (OSU) geologist. "It just isn't very mobile. For Mount Hood, the threshold seems to be about 750 degrees C - if it warms up just 50 to 75 degrees above that, it greatly...

-- Rescuers hoping to find two hikers missing on the frigid slopes of Oregon's Mount Hood faced worsening weather conditions Monday night as forecasters predicted white-out conditions that could severely hinder search efforts. == Up to 2 feet of snow is expected to fall Monday night into Tuesday at the elevation where rescuers are searching for any signs of Anthony Vietti, 24, and Katie Nolan, 29, who have been missing since early Friday. A third hiker who was with them, 26-year-old Luke Gullberg, was found dead Saturday.

GOVERNMENT CAMP -- A chance encounter with a plastic bottle early Tuesday helped two lost climbers find their way off the lower flanks of Mount Hood after a night spent huddled in a hastily built snow cave. The bottle, apparently left by someone playing an adventure game, held map coordinates giving their precise location. And the two Portland men spotted it just as searchers called their cell phones -- which they mistakenly believed had stopped working for good the night before. "That was something," said 27-year-old Justin Votos, still marveling at the turn of events an hour after he and...

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. - Three climbers who tumbled off a ledge on Mount Hood were taken away in an ambulance after they hiked down much of the state's highest peak with their rescuers — and a dog who may have saved their lives. "We're soaking wet and freezing," said one of two rescued women as she walked from a tracked snow vehicle to an ambulance. One of the women, whose name was not released, was taken to a Portland hospital and being treated for a head injury, said Jim Strovink, spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department. "She's going to...

Rescuers have begun climbing Mount Hood in an effort to find and help three climbers who slipped over a ledge near Illumination Saddle shortly before noon today. It's unknown how far down the mountain the climbers fell or how badly they are injured, said Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. Complicating the search: Snow and wind have created near-whiteout conditions. The climbers, whose identities were not immediately available, were in a party of eight people, Strovink said. Emergency dispatchers received a cell phone call for help from someone in the party, which is thought to be...

Autopsy shows Mt. Hood climber not injured after all 04:59 PM PST on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 By kgw.com and AP Staff HOOD RIVER, Ore. -- Autopsy results Wednesday showed that Mt. Hood climber Kelly James, whose body was recovered Monday, was not injured as previously thought. AP Photo Brian Hall's sister, Angela Hall (left) and Sheriff Joe Wampler speak to the media. James did not have a dislocated shoulder as reported by authorities earlier this week. Furthermore, James' body showed no broken bones or injuries that would have prevented his mobility, according to the state medical examiner, Dr. Larry...

The search to find two missing climbers alive on Mount Hood is over and it has now become a "recovery effort," Sheriff Joe Wampler said Wednesday. "We've done everything we can at this point," Wampler said. He made the remarks after personally piloting a Piper Cub over the 11,239-foot mountain for new clues. He found none. His decision ends a dramatic nine-day search for three climbers who went missing on Mount Hood on Dec. 11. One of three — Kelly James — was pulled out of a snow cave on Monday. For three days, the volunteers and helicopters scoured the...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Rescue teams gave up any hope of finding two missing climbers alive on stormy Mount Hood and abandoned the frustrating, 9-day-old search Wednesday. "We've done everything we can at this point," said Sheriff Joe Wampler. Wampler said the men's families made the decision to end the search. He said the operation is now a "recovery effort." Three climbers in all were reported missing in the snow on Mount Hood on Dec. 11. One of them, 48-year-old Dallas landscape architect Kelly James, was found dead in a snow cave on Monday. Volunteers continued scouring the mountains for signs...

Search turns a corner as hope for two climbers wanes Mount Hood - Planes inspect a small area and a scaled-back crew remains ready as talk turns to probing with poles Wednesday, December 20, 2006 MATTHEW PREUSCH and STUART TOMLINSON The Oregonian HOOD RIVER -- With searchers returning to their day jobs, helicopters back at their home bases and another storm blowing toward Mount Hood, officials are expressing little hope the search for two missing climbers will come to a happy end. "For all intents and purposes, things are kind of wrapping up," said Portland Mountain Rescue's Steve Rollins, who...

It starts with mumbling and stumbling. Then come violent shivers and then, paradoxically, a false sense of warmth that makes some people strip their clothes off. Eventually, they may curl into a fetal position as their muscles go rigid, their skin goes waxy, and the heart slows down, then stops. Whether two climbers missing on Mount Hood for more than a week are still alive is not clear. But if they are somehow still hanging on in the brutal cold and howling winds, perhaps hunkered down in a snow cave, they may be going through what veteran climbers say is...

Photos found with deceased climber Kelly James have raised worries about how long his two colleagues can survive on the brutal summit of Mount Hood, an official said on Tuesday. "We've got some pictures. Kelly James had taken some pictures of his climb," said Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler. "So we know pretty much what they had with them," he said. After examining the photos, Wampler said, "looking what they had with them, I'm pretty concerned about how long somebody can last out there."

Photos taken by Kelly James raise concerns over ability to survive Story Published: Dec 19, 2006 at 10:22 AM PST Story Updated: Dec 19, 2006 at 10:30 AM PST By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER Associated Press Writer HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) - Photos found with deceased climber Kelly James have raised worries about how long his two colleagues can survive on the brutal summit of Mount Hood, an official said on Tuesday. "We've got some pictures. Kelly James had taken some pictures of his climb," said Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler. "So we know pretty much what they had with...

HOOD RIVER, Ore. - Two climbers still missing on Mount Hood may have been swept to their deaths over a treacherous cliff by howling winds of more than 100 mph after they left their possibly injured companion behind in a snow cave to get help.

HOOD RIVER, Ore. — The air rescue operations have been called off in the search for two missing Mount Hood climbers, FOX News has learned. Search and rescue crews on hill are on much lower elevations and are all volunteer. They will use metal detectors and avalanche poles during their search. Black Hawk helicopters have flown back to their base in Salem, Ore., and the Chinook helicopter will fly back to its base in Pendleton, Ore. The search narrowed Tuesday to a small rugged section of ridge and glacier on the dangerous north side, but searchers say it has had...

HOOD RIVER, Ore. — The body of one of the three climbers who have been missing for 10 days on Mount Hood was discovered in a snow cave late Sunday afternoon. Rescuers dropped search teams near the mountain's 11,239-foot summit from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter flown by pilots who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq. The pararescue team members scaled 300 feet down the nearly vertical face of the northeastern face of the mountain to reach a snow cave that was spotted earlier in the day. The team discovered two ice axes, some rope and a sleeping bag in the...

Monday, December 18, 2006 "Obvious arm injury" saddled Kelly James, authorities say Authorities say that Kelly James -- the missing Texas hiker whose body was found in a snow cave on Mount Hood -- had an "obvious arm injury" that may have hindered him from descending the mountain. Recovery specialists brought Kelly's body down from the mountain this afternoon. They said tattoos, jewelry and other markings on his body made it clear to officials that it was James' body. "He had an obvious arm injury," said Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler. One of the searchers said James was found...

Three climbers stranded on blizzard-ravaged Mount Hood selected one of the most difficult approaches to the summit, a decision that is hampering rescue efforts. The trio scaled the north side of the mountain, which offers a view of Mount Rainier but is treacherous, with slopes of 50 or 60 degrees and occasional sheer walls of ice. For rescue crews, the site has been made even more forbidding by snow-laden winds rushing over the steep slopes at speeds up to 80 mph. "Those are the strongest winds I've ever been in — knock you down, hands and knees," said Lindsay Clunes...