Climbers may struggle with hypothermia ( Mount Hood )

Associated Press ^ | December 19, 2006 | TIM FOUGHT and SARAH SKIDMORE

[george76]

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 a slow, dispiriting assault on both mind and body.

"We are approaching that time when we have to make serious consideration whether we are spinning our wheels," said Sheriff Joe Wampler, who is overseeing the search-and-rescue.

It was unclear whether they were swept off the mountain by 100 mph winds, were buried in last week's blizzards or created a shelter for themselves by burrowing into the snow and sharing their body heat, as climbers are trained to do.

But hopes of finding them alive dimmed after officials developed film in a disposable camera found in James' pocket.

The pictures, taken as the men began their ascent, show the three had enough gear and provisions for a quick climb up Mount Hood but not for a longer period out in the elements.

The photos show "three happy guys putting their stuff out there," the sheriff said.

But "looking what they had with them, I'm pretty concerned about how long somebody can last out there."

soon hypothermia sets in, and the symptoms include confusion, delirium, hopelessness, loss of coordination and intense shivering.

"The shivering is agony,"...

"Once the shivering stops, they have lost the ability to fend for themselves."

[george76]

The big assets have been sent home.

Even the family spokeswoman said thank you to the searchers for their efforts...

[gotribe]

There you go. Problem solved. Wonder why they don't do it?

[george76]

[Grendel9]

Climbing a mountain (in winter months!?)
without every possible mode of communications
is like traveling across country without a
wireless phone. OK, so decades ago, there
was the adventure of the trek...on your own,
reliant on no one to come to the rescue...
the gasoline and water used up and you're
stuck out in the desert. The stats on how
many people are LOST annually but go
unreported by the media are mind-boggling.

There is NO LOGIC to anyone objecting to
mandatory GPS for climbers. OK, so you
put YOUR life on the line for the thrill
of the self-sufficiency venture. Now
consider the rescuer-lives YOU put at
risk when that self-reliance fails you
due to one basic flaw in your makeup...
stupidity!