Posted on 12/17/2006 7:53:05 AM PST by 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
" Maj. Allan Renwick with 152nd air lift wing circles Mount Hood in a C-130 airplane while helping to search for missing climbers, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2006, near Hood River, Ore.
Sean Collinson of the Clackamas County sheriff's office said a C-130 aircraft equipped with thermal imaging would continue flying around the 11,239-foot mountain during the night, looking to pick up body heat from the missing climbers, who left Dec. 7 on what was to be a two-day trip. "
With planes flying round about above them and choppers flying below, you'd think they would hear it and show themselves.
I am afraid it isnt going to be good news when they find them.
I hope I am wrong.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1166329517283160.xml&coll=7&thispage=1
another update and summary of yesterday...they did find a clue at the end of the day...a piece of climbing equipment 300 feet from the top! That is a good sign!
Presser any minute now.
Interesting article I found on another blog...
http://robotgossip.blogspot.com/2006/12/robots-join-rescue-effort.html
http://www.katu.com/news/live/3882262.html
Here is the video link...
Searchers will be at summit by 10am PST...less than 1 hour from now. Weather is good today. Cold but fairly clear.
They expect major developments within the next few hours...search area has been narrowed because of anamolies in the snow and/or equipment spotted.
Hopefully they are all together and still alive.
Have you heard anything about the cell phone ping from Tuesday.
They should be able to get pretty close to that snow cave ?
I hope that you are correct.
Hopefully the pack is not full of survival gear ( sleeping bags, stoves, extra gas, etc. ) that were left behind ( and never retrieved ) by the remaining two guys on a quick summit push.
Interesting presser.
The family , rescue spokesmen...all hopeful and trying to be as positive as possible.
We are all hopeful.
Did these climber pack:
1) a flare gun?
2) any 2-way communications radios that are COMMONLY available and aside from that consumer item known as a 'cell phone' (that requires suporting infrastructure even at 10K feet) and that could communicate directly with SAR aircraft (somthing like a 121.5 MHz capable aircraft hand-held radios)?
3) a sat phone - capable of working ANYWHERE?
4) a simple mirror?
Cell phones work just fine from mountain tops. Hood is no exception.
Hoping battery is charged enough, and warm enough, to work.
I did not hear the press people mention anything about a flare gun, sat phone...
Maybe someone from Oregon knows more ?
Cell phones work just fine from mountain tops.I'm not buying that; I think we would have heard MORE from these guys AND have successfully placed calls TO them that one of them would have PICKED UP and ANSWERED.
(As an aside, I would really like to hear from any other celular systems designer's to hear their 'take' on engineering for 'coverage' of any given "mountain top" here in the US; specifically, did they run any propagation plots and choose sites and suitable antennas having some 'uptilt' to achieve reliable mountaintop coverage. Also, how does one perform 'frequency planning' in a situation like that.)
It still doesn't negate having proper COMMS (communications equipment) that can talk DIRECTLY with rescuers FLYING overhead.
Something as simple as an FRS radio can accomplish that feat.
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