Posted on 12/13/2006 8:23:48 AM PST by george76
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 of Corvallis Mountain Rescue, one of the dozens of searchers who have been looking for the three climbers since last weekend.
Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke had planned a "quick climb" on Mount Hood, traveling light to make the ascent as fast as possible.
They had not been heard from since Sunday, when James called on his cell phone from a snow cave just below the summit. The Hood River County sheriff's office said it would mount another full effort early Wednesday.
Cooke, 36, a lawyer from New York City, and Hall, 37, a personal trainer who played for the now-defunct Dallas Rockets professional soccer team, are believed to have attempted a descent while James, 48, a landscape architect from Dallas, apparently remained near the summit.
Even if crews locate the missing climbers, bad weather may prevent them from climbing high enough to rescue them, said Deputy Pete Hughes, a sheriff's spokesman.
"The next 48 hours is not looking very good,"
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Lol. "All right, Line Up! Good. Now everybody look down in front of you. There is a pair of boots, a coil of rope and an ice axe. Pick them up. Now put on the boots, fasten the rope to your belt and hold the axe in one hand. Good. Now, everyone extend to the left one arms length. Good. Now, look up the mountain. Every one will take one step forward when you hear the horn....
When communists rule....
I really have to wonder why anyone would choose this time of year to climb a mountain. It is dangerous any time of year, but especially now.
FYI: since the Portland NG Air Rescue, police, EMTs, etc. are participating they will bill their excess hours and any overtime which the various governments will pay. Beyond the NG costs for every cop and EMT on site there's probably one pulled in on overtime to cover their regular shift.
Paying the Price for RescueThis case and many like it are times agencies could consider charging rescue subjects for a small portion of their services. A 4-year-old Oregon law gives search agencies the authority to charge subjects of search and rescues up to $500 a piece when "reasonable care" was not used and when "applicable laws were violated."
But officials say the reimbursement law is a tool they will begin use in appropriate cases to recover lost taxpayer dollars and send a message to persons who place search and rescue personnel, themselves and others in danger.
While rescue units have a high sympathy threshold for the lost and unlucky, they are sometimes irked by the cases they encounter. A few examples:
• A search for three hikers caught in a snowstorm on Mount Hood cost taxpayers about $10,000 in March 1995. More than 100 people searched for the three college students, who in fact were well-equipped, warm and safe. The three waited the storm out in their tent playing cards. The hikers were not carrying a cellular-phone or radio locator unit. The incident prompted the 1995 reimbursement legislation.
"life,liberty,pursuit of happiness"
That's why they are doing it. What a dull world it would be without man challenging himself.
"life,liberty,and property"
Boring, without the challenge of pursuits.
It must amaze you that there are so many FR people on here that don't get that the human spirit of adventure and exploration is one of the things that make us human.
I mean, I'd hate to think that 30-40 years from now, (I'm 45)on my death bed...I'd look back on my life and say, damn I'm glad we balanced the budget for 6 years.
Boring.
Because it is there.
The Oregon wilderness is kicking our butt.
"How many more, Ms Speaker? How many more must perish before the folly of Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase is recognized and we withdraw to our own territory?"
"If we withdraw to our own lands across the Ohio river, the removal of the foreign occupation of Lewis and Clark, whose presence in their holy lands has so enraged the red men, will let things get back to normal. After the settlers are scalped, of course, it goes without saying."
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Yes, by the way, people who do dumb stuff get billed for their rescues, depending on who does it. And yes, rescuers take risks (you may remember the compelling video of an HH-60 helicopter rolling down the hill with a climber almost aboard a few years back (all, including the climber, survived).
I recommend to all the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. It's not a survival manual, but it does fulfill its subtitle's goal of telling us "Who lives. Who dies. And why." Gonzales is an experienced outdoorsman and a compelling writer (I don't know him personally). The book is worth the price for his description of the psychophysiology of being lost, alone. You get his tales of survival as a bonus, beginning with his father's miraculous sole-survivor B-17 crash, and including a lot of insightful analysis of the exact annual mishap surveys that Angkor cites.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
"Portland NG Air Rescue, police, EMTs, etc. are participating"
Not one of those people is mountain rescue.
Portland Mountain Rescue is a volunteer organization.
I love my Wiggy's - best sleeping bag in the world.
I am gonna put it on my Christmas list...
M/M Kim made an error in judgment...a MISTAKE...that young people will make from time to time....not like some of the holier-than-thou old farts here .......
the climbers deliberately went to a mountain in December, which has snow on it all year long, and chose the hardest way to go up......
let's see here....a sad mistake by a young family OR a deliberate CHOICE by apparently seasoned climbers ......
I know who I feel bad for...
By taking the tires off their car they sealed their fate. Only a day or so after he was found, there was no longer any snow on the road.
We have hiked, canoed, camped, etc. when we were without children. AFter that we would never have considered jeopardizing their safety so we could pretend we were fancy free again.
You want to call me an old fart.......I take that gladly.
Mr. Kim made a choice to take a shortcut down a Forest Service road with no survival gear (or training, evidently), no GPS, no knowledge of the road systems, etc. Because he was completely naive as to the risks he was taking, he had no problem bringing his family along with him on his expedition.
The three climbers made their risk assessment and misjudged the weather (mountaineering is almost entirely about risk assessment and risk management).
To "feel bad for" the hapless naife as compared to the climbers on an "epic" (that's what these events are called in climbing), is a little skewed, IMHO.
It doesn't have to be. With winds that strong, at that altitude, it will feel like it. I pray for their safety, but it's not looking good. With this new storm moving in, it will probably be Sat at the earliest that they can start searching for them again. I'm sure they didn't have enough supplies with them to last over a week. It was only supposed to be a 2 day climb. Even if they planned that something could go wrong, I doubt they planned for something lasting this long.
I pray they are safe, but time is not on their side. And neither is the weather.
Selfish people with risky ambitions accomplish things and go places"...
Ambition is admirable. Overestimating your capabilities by taking on what is a most difficult climb in even the best of weather conditions may be viewed as incredibly stupid by some, especially when attempted in the winter months when blizzards can occur without warning.
I suppose those who play Russian Roulette are also in it for the thrill. And, this can be played on the couch as well and it can end in death.
According to an email response I received from Mark Larabee, who writes for the Oregonian and is covering this rescue operation: "Hood River and Clackamas County Sheriffs are spending the bulk of the funds, though most of the searchers going out into the elements are volunteers. The National Guard is also spending money. As for the actual
cost, we won't know that until this is over, but Hood River estimates its spending $5000 to $6000 a day."
Volunteers, of course, do not receive pay.
Finally, Angkor, you state: "I've been friends with several guys who were in mountain rescue, including the leaders of the teams. What you are saying above is 100 percent BS. They were volunteers, they did not get compensated, and there was 0 (Z-E-R-O) expense to the taxpayer. You're pulling this right out of your tookus."
Angkor: Just who funds the sheriff's department? Hint: Taxpayers. And, I did not pull this out of my "tookus" (and by the way, the correct spelling for this is tokhes) Also, please note the caption under the Your Reply window -"Please: No personal attacks." Saying that I'm pulling something out of my posterior is akin to fabricating information and posting it as truth, which is something I will not do.
With this all being said, the expense incurred as a result of these rescue attempts will be borne by the taxpayers. We cannot put a dollar value on life, which is precious and given by the Almighty, but we can conduct ourselves in a responsible manner and still enjoy life. Please join me in continued prayer for their safe rescue and protection of the rescuers.
What would the sheriff's department and National Guard be costing us if they were not in this rescue? They'd still be on salary, they'd still be burning gas and salaries doing something else.
Doesn't bother me a bit that they are doing this.
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