Ore. searchers thwarted again by weather ( Day 11 : Mt Hood )

, Associated Press ^ | Dec 17 | JOSEPH B. FRAZIER

[george76]

Fervent hopes and a brief break in the weather brought no satisfaction to relatives and friends of three climbers missing on the dangerous north side of Mount Hood.

The clear, cold morning turned foul by midday Saturday, before searchers on two sides of the mountain and helicopter crews retired for the night because of weather and darkness, finding no trace of the three men.

The Hood River County sheriff's office, a lead agency in the search, said efforts would continue Sunday.

On Saturday, a C-130 with infrared heat-seeking capability from the Nevada Air National Guard took to the skies over Mount Hood for a second day and was to continue around the clock with alternating crews.

After that, "we'll have to see," said Sheriff Joe Wampler.

Cold also hobbled rescue efforts, as some searchers on the north side had to come down because of facial frostbite.

The temporary weather break paved the way for the biggest push yet since the three men, two Texans and a New Yorker, were reported missing a week ago Sunday on what was to have been a quick climb of the 11,239-foot peak.

Ground searchers reported visibility as low as 20 feet as 50 mph winds kicked soft snow into a near-whiteout mist.

"It wasn't quite the dream picture we had hoped for today. But there is the chance tomorrow...

Before dawn, 25 rescue mountaineers began making their way up the south side and another 30 started from the north side, Wampler said. Both teams started at about 6,000 feet.

"I know my son's coming down today," said Lou Ann Cameron of Bryant, Ark., mother of Kelly James...

"It's my birthday. He wouldn't miss my birthday," ...

"The mountain has no right to keep our sons."

[BurbankKarl]

HOOD RIVER, Ore. -- None of the three missing climbers on Mount Hood were found in a snow cave near the mountain's peak, authorities said Sunday.

Rescuers who reached the cave found a sleeping bag, ice axes and rope, said Sgt. Gerry Tiffany, spokesman for the Hood River County Sheriff's Office.

ap plug

[Abigail Adams]

Wow, what a sad and infuriating story! God bless you for the work you've done.

[spectre]

I saw the movie...and don't want to see it again EVER.

My husband (spectre) told me that these men knew the dangers they were going into, and like you, there is a point where the risk and safety of the rescuers should be a priority even when it is their job to save others.

sw

[CWOJackson]

Unfortunately, the unofficial motto in the Coast Guard is, "You have to go out, you don't have to come back." I've never seen anyone not volunteer for a search and rescue (SAR) mission despite the odds.

The same motivations drive those men and women on that mountain right now. We were stationed in Seattle in 1995, when two National Park Rangers died in an attempt to rescue some climbers on Mt. Rainer. The news was all about the climbers, not about the Rangers.

Every hour we keep those people on the mountain and in the air we increase the odds against them.

[george76]

' ...there are "fresh prints"...'

I wonder how fresh they are ?

After the hurricance force winds...month old prints may be frozen solid on rock outcroppings while Thursday's prints may be gone.

[spectre]

Someone said that the snow caves are sort of "soundproof"..They could be sleeping (alright that's a stretch...). But still..

sw

[CWOJackson]

Thank you.

[timer]

This situation could have been resolved quickly as to GPS location. No, not some expensive and heavy radio : a lightweight T shirt with a transponder wire in the neck. With a simple organic battery it would respond to a precise, directed signal from a plane. This would also be of use to lost hunters, kidnapped or lost children. Why hasn't someone developed such a product and gotten it on the market? It would have saved these guys lives...

[george76]

" There are some treacherous crevasses high on the south side route, let's hope they are not in those. "

These three apparently are strong experienced climbers, but they apparently have never climbed Mt. Hood and they did not have a guide.

I agree : hopefully they did not...

[spectre]

There ya go!

I was asking my husband about that sort of GPS tracking device...a chip perhaps.

It should be mandatory, IMHO.

sw

[schu]

I understand the prints led directly from the ice cave. It is unlikely they would be older than a few days given the amount of snow we have had recently. In my experience is takes but a few days for prints to disappear on a mountain.

schu

[george76]

Thank you for your service.

spent over 30 years in the Coast Guard.

[surfer]

I am hearing reports that it may have been a sleeping pad they found...not a sleeping bag. Seems to be some FOG OF NEWS on this item.

[PAR35]

the climbers were very well prepared

That may be true, but it isn't consistent with what I have previously read.

[schu]

I just read that the cave was on the south side, about 300' below the summit? If so, that is good news.

schu

[sissyjane]

No, the cave they found was on the north side. About 300' below the summit.

[george76]

There is alot of fog.

Some of it comes from the talking heads... Most do not know basic climbing terms nor concepts.

They constantly confuse basic terms like : hiking and climbing... never mind a discussion on the many different uses of different types of ice and snow axes.

[george76]

Me too. We need to work on this.

running up and down stairs...from computer to TV.

[txrangerette]

I hope that info is the true story, rather than the first version.

[george76]

I hope it was just the pad.

---

No Climbers Found in Mount Hood Snow Cave

HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) -- A snow cave near the peak of Mount Hood contained a sleeping bag, ice axes and rope, but not the three climbers who have been missing for more than a week, authorities said Sunday.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MISSING_CLIMBERS?SITE=CODER&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-12-17-18-04-05"class="ap-newsbriefitem-a;