Free Republic

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...

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...

A missing climber found dead in a snow cave on Mount Hood was identified as a Dallas man who had placed a distress call to relatives a little more than a week ago, a person close to the family said Monday. Searchers found the cave Sunday near the spot located by cell phone signals traced from Kelly James, who made a four-minute call to his family Dec. 10 just below the summit, said Jessica Nunez, a spokeswoman for the climber's family. On Monday, a recovery team was expected to retrieve the body, which remained on the mountain over night because...

Relatives of three men missing in bitter weather on Mount Hood comforted each other and held out hope Friday that the trio survived, eight days after the lightly equipped men left for a two-day ascent. Winds were expected to gust to 100 mph Friday morning in the latest of a string of storms to hit the 11,239-foot mountain, and forecasters said rescuers' next shot to find the men probably would be Saturday. Kelly James, who like Hall is from Dallas, was believed to be holed up in a snow cave near the top, and the other two were thought to...

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...