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 ...
"but there needs to be some sort of sanity injected into this type of risk taking, make the climbers apply for a permit, the day before such a trek"
When you only have a couple of days to drive/climb and get back to work the hassle of arranging to be at the park HQ between 9:00-5:00 becomes a non-priority.
(Been there done that, but not at Mt. Hood)
The point is that an experienced mountaineer would not attempt such a climb in the weather that we have been having in the Northwest. I still have piles of snow left over from Thanksgiving weekend, and I live 200 ft above sea level, near the coast. Monday, we had such strong winds and rain that there were power outages all over the place and a tractor trailer jack knifed and over turned on the freeway. Today the wind and rain are back. I mean we have not had a break in the weather for a month and a half.
Considering the fact that the weather in the Northwest has been terrible for a month and a half, I think that the climbers would have had time to check with the park service before setting out. The article said that they had winds up to 80 mph, well we had winds up to 60mph down at sea level. I think that these guys should have had a clue.
There is a natural sanity in the mountains: if you make too many mistakes you die. Period.
I don't think that the rescuers bear the expense of this type of rescue
What expenses are you referring to? Most rescue teams are volunteers. There is a huge amount of pride and valor and even fun in mountain rescues. Getting on a mountain rescue "A" team (as opposed to the "B" team) is very competitive.
You seem to think that there is some sort of terrible burden for the rescue personnel. There is not. They love it. That's why they do it for free and even at their own expense.
This incident is another example of the gene pool being cleansed.
Helicopters cost money.
Not to my recollection, but over the years it's included many stories of Boy Scouts and high school & college kids getting into trouble.
Failed rapelling anchors; ridiculously inadequate winter clothing; failure to hydrate; lightening strikes. You name it.
Stuff happens. Should we ban both the hapless and the experienced from the outdoors, so there won't be anymore rescue expenses *BTW, what expenses are we talking about?)?
Anyway it's not even clear that the climbers on Mt. Hood have made any mistakes. For all we know they're sitting uncomfortably in their snow caves waiting for the weather to clear. That's no "failure" by any rational mountaineering standard, it's proper behavior.
Three days after the last contact with a climbing party lost on the treacherous north face of Mount Hood, it was boiling down Wednesday to some discouraging numbers.
High winds. Days passed. Low temperatures.
A finite number of volunteers qualified and available to operate in those conditions on the steep ridges and glaciers of Oregon's tallest peak.
...the missing climbers, bad weather may prevent crews from climbing high enough to rescue them, Hughes said.
"But if anybody is above the 7,000-foot range, we're not going to be able to get to them," Hughes said. "And we're probably not going to be able to get to them by Thursday either, unless there happens to be a break in the weather."
Frozen rain fell on the area late Tuesday night and more bad weather was expected.
"The next 48 hours is not looking very good," Hughes said.
There's a semi-permanent Nat Park tent on the Lower Saddle of Grand Teton, and they do walk around checking permits, and issue fines of you don't have one.
But that's all for impact/crowd control, not to keep track of who's up on the mountain. They don't want too many people up there at the same time.
latest
I can demonstrate that you are flat-out wrong by directing you to Fox News Channel which this very minute is covering three experienced mountaineers being on Mt. Hood.
So, yes, experienced mountaineers would and do attempt such climbs, they are doing it right now.
You really have no idea. Mt. McKinley/Denali (which one of the guys has climbed) is often 40 to 50 below zero in the summer, with 90 MPH winds. The Andes (another spot one has been) are torturous due to altitude, and a mountain guide friend of mine had to be brought down by his own clients due to severe altitude sickness. Personally I've been in 30 below coming down from a peak, and another time summiting to 100 MPH winds at about 15 degrees F.
What you might consider to be bad, scary, or even dealy weather, can be the utmost fun to an experienced and properly-equipped mountaineer.
What incident it that? Nothing has happened except some climbers being stuck in their snow caves under bad weather conditions. They're sitting uncomfortably, melting snow to stay hydrated, waiting for the weather the clear.
Sounds to me like the kind of people who enhance the gene pool.
Keep that in mind the next time a motorist runs off the road and needs an air-evac, or a pregnant mother needs an airlift to the hospital, or a Boy Scout is hit by lightening, or a fisherman has a heart attack, or a hunter loses his way in the woods.
We shall see.
You are not taking into account all the law enforcement and EMT folks who are standing by...and, as Eva said, helicopters cost money.
There is also a terrible emotional toll taken on these folks.
Rescues cost money. If you don't live in or pay property taxes in my community to support emergency services, don't expect me to foot the bill for your cockamamie stunts.
TANSTAAFL.
If they stay in a snow cave and can hydrate properly, they can stay up there for a week. Snow caves will stabilize at around 30 degrees inside temp and are totally windproof.
Hopefully they brought a stove on their one day attempt...
and enough gas for a week on their one day attempt.
Anyone who goes into the wilderness outdoors, anyone who climbs, anyone who goes backpacking, hunting, or fishing in the wilds should be aware that there's always a risk and a chance of mishap and the possibility of injury or death. Period. The hapless are those who are blissfully ignorant of this reality. The inexperienced are those who haven't yet gained the knowledge to mitigate that risk (e.g., survival training, winter hiking training, wilderness medicine training).
As for expenses, are you saying that the mountain rescue teams and equipment are fully funded by the climbers themselves?
Yeah. There are very very few "professional rescuers". National Park Service has some rangers who get involved in mountain rescue. But most of the serious mountain rescue teams are 100 percent volunteer, sometimes working under the auspices of a non-profit organization for minor expenses (gas money, post-rescue pizza and beer).
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