Well ... it's sad news that at least one of these climbers has died.

I spent many years climbing mountains when I was younger. At that time I belonged to the "old school". I never expected S&R to come and get me. So for that reason I would try to be meticulous in my planning - so that my team could always extricate ourselves if something went wrong. Still, I must admit that there is always a fair amount of "luck" that is involved in mountaineering. Anyone can have a bad day.

I think what goes wrong (commonly) these days is that climbers try to do these peaks "alpine style". It has become in vogue to attempt summits by moving fast and light. The technique works out fine providing the climbers have excellent fitness, great skills, use good judgment about weather, and don't encounter bad mishaps. But it gets people in serious trouble if things go badly wrong. They are generally not carrying a lot of gear for an extended stay on the mountain.

I agree with people on this forum about the locator beacons. A PLB, or a SPOT tracker system, would have helped S&R locate these people a lot faster. It seems like a small price to pay for a human life ... and frankly these units just aren't that expensive (or that heavy to carry in a backpack).

the other Pete

Body found on Mount Hood; 2 climbers still missing Note that S&R hasn't found the other two yet, so it might get worse.

Watch for beacons to become mandatory to step foot on the mountain.

I am not sure I understand why you would say that, perhaps you could explain why you believe that to be an issue. While standards are changed regularly in an effort to make new beacons better and more reliable, there is no plan to change the standards for 406 MHz beacons in any manner that is not 100% backwards compatible and current plans look out way beyond the useful life of any PLB or EPIRB bought today. For commercial beacons such as SPOT, there may be questions that arise more on the order of is the company going to be around, but still not anything I would worry a lot about.

Mt. Hood is an extremely accessible and popular peak. Probably no one appreciates Mt. Hood's allure more than those who volunteer to rescue people who get in trouble on it. We don't read about the thousands of successful climbs every year.

It's estimated that 10,000 people attempt the summit annually. It's remarkable that more don't perish.

God bless the families and the rescuers. And the deputy who had the grim duty of telling the families that avalanche danger has to restrict the rescue effort.

The article at this link is being continually updated with the latest info:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/ground_search_for_missing_mt_h.html

"Rescuers did not head out on foot Sunday because of avalanche danger, a decision made late Saturday night by Portland Mountain Rescue and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office officials.

...The body was found at about the 9,000-foot level on Reid Glacier. However, photographs taken from a digital camera that was found near the body indicate the climbers reached perhaps as high as 10,000 feet on the headwall, said Rollins.

The conditions on Reid Glacier, the west side of the peak where the search has been focused, are particularly susceptible to avalanche....

A Clackamas County deputy explained the decision to family members of the climbers at about 7 a.m. in a gathering near the stone fireplace of Timberline Lodge, where the families are staying."

Nolan has traveled to several parts of the world -- Nepal, South America, Israel -- on behalf of Christian causes. In one part of the globe she has worked "rescuing young women from the slave trade," he said.

"She's been all over the world," he said.

Some great pictures and descriptions of where the search is being concentrated -- Reid glacier (on the west side, toward Portland, Timberline Lodge is on the south side).

I take great interest in Mt. Hood because I lived on the 2200-foot level in the Hood River Valley. Hood was our center of recreation and the view out our living room window. A magnificent peak. The even taller and more massive Mt. Adams was the view from our kitchen. Lovely as the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument are, I'd much rather be gazing at the Cascades....

http://www.summitpost.org/route/157640/reid-glacier-headwall.html

and more interesting info on the mountain:

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mount_Hood

...hundreds of thousands have scaled Oregon's highest peak. Today, it is the most frequently climbed glaciated peak in North America.

There are treacherous conditions involved in the climb with more than 130 people losing their lives in climbing-related accidents since records have been kept on the mountain.[12]

Its status as Oregon's highest point, a prominent landmark visible up to a hundred miles away, convenient access, and relative lack of technical climbing challenges lure many to attempt the climb, which amounts to about 10,000 people per year. On average, one to three lives are lost annually.[13]

Gentle winds and warm air at access points transform into 60°F temperature drops in less than an hour, sudden sustained winds of 60 mph and more, and visibility quickly dropping from hundreds of miles to an arm's length. This pattern is responsible for the most well known incidents of May 1986 and December 2006. One of the worst U.S. climbing accidents occurred in May 1986, when seven students and two faculty of the Oregon Episcopal School froze to death during an annual school climb. The accident in December of 2006 involved three very experienced climbers. Cascade Range weather patterns are unfamiliar to many, even nearby residents. The two major causes of climbing deaths on Mount Hood are falls and hypothermia.

Another reason for the danger in Mt. Hood climbs is the shifting of travel routes. Even experienced climbers can be surprised by unexpected differences from previous experiences on the mountain. One example of this shift was reported in the spring of 2007, relating changes in the formation of the popular South Route. Reportedly, the Hogsback, (part of the South Route), shifted west, increasing the difficulty of the climb. Another change occurred when a technical "ice chute" formed in the Pearly Gates, increasing the difficulty of that climb. This change pushed some climbers to choose the "left chute" of the Pearly Gates, however; in this alternative route there is a technical ice wall 30 feet or greater in height, and with fall exposure of over 500 feet.[14]

The distinctions between alpine and expedition styles dissolve in a one day ascent, as this one apparently was intended to be. The differences between these styles appear when what is normally a multiday trip is contemplated with (or without base camps and intermediate camps).

Everest is typically attempted expedition style - doesn't seem to have depressed fatalities noticeably.

Sorry, Lono, I don't have a better nature.

These people refused to take a PLB, and couldn't even be bothered to take a small shovel, so exactly how well equipped are they?

Over 135 have died on Mt. Washington (NH).

130 climbers have died on Mt. Hood (OR).

About 100 have died on Mt. Rainier (WA).

95 climbers have died on Mt. McKinley (AK).

76 have died on K2.

Over 175 have died on Everest.

Like I said, if people want to go up, let them; and let them get down by themselves, too. How many would venture up there if they didn't know someone else would go after them? Why do you think they carry cell phones?

Sue

I can't tell you - but I regard all regular media coverage to be wildly inaccurate on such details. My rule is simple: If it is in the regular newspaper/radio/TV, just take for granted that they don't have a friggin clue what they're talking about. Modern media emphasise speed over accuracy - and who but us (and their relatives) gives a squat about their equipment anyway?



That list covers so different conditions it is almost incomprehensible. Only the very best elite climbers dare to try climbing K2. Mt hood has how many thousand visitors each year?



For climbers above a certain level of expertice and climbs above a minimum challenge, I am absolutely certain it would make no difference what so ever - they will climb that mountain anyway. (As a side note, I'm pretty sure if the official SAR service stopped going after them, their climbing friends - or unknown members of the climbing community - would go after them. Pretty much what happens anyway - ground based search and rescue after climbers must be done by climbers, right? Of course the government has stuff like helicopters that are too expensive for most spontaneous friends-and-friends-friends initiatives...)

If something goes wrong in the wild, YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN! Search and rescue is a bonus you shouldn't take for granted. Your predicament may be so quick that everything else is a funeral service. Or all sorts of mishaps such as foul weather may put you beyond the reach of even the worlds best SAR resources. You can push all the magic buttons in the world, if it blows too hard neither that helicopter nor those on the ground will be able to do anything for you. You maximize the odds by preparing (which is what this site is all about, right?) but nothing can guarantee that you can't die out there. All climbers know this. They climb anyway.


Susan, you raise a very important ethical question. Where is the limit for the communitys life saving efforts? At what point does the community stop reaching out the helping hand? What level of danger is inexusable? What level of stupidity, boldness and thrill seeking behaviour is so flat out dangerous that we as a society will refuse to risk our resources when it goes wrong?


My own take on this: I start with the basic premise that I will not impose my judgement of "too dangerous" on other grown ups. Their life, their thrill seeking, their level of adrealine addiction - and they have to live with whatever happens as a result. I'm not a high risk thrill seeker, by the way, but I still enjoy doing stuff that some of you may consider flat out ridiculous dangerous. That's OK, by the way - if you think something is too dangerous you probably should not be doing that anyway. (Moving those "too dangerous" boundaries by proper training is one of the true joys of life, but each to his own).

From this premise I am led to a very practical solution: Since I have this "live and let live" approach to whatever dangers people choose to expose themselves too, I can't let those choices dictate wether saving them is appropriate or not. Sometimes it is not possible - too bad, stuff happens. But for me it is unacceptable to say to another fellow human: Sorry, but you are so stupid I will not save you even if I could.


Another take on this: It saddens me to hear of human stupidity having totally pointless mortal consequences. Trying to minimize that loss by searching and rescuing those who still can be saved seems to me to be a pretty good investment.

Then it is I who am sorry, Sue.

I hope you never have a friend, acquaintance or member of your family who dies in the woods - god forbid on some lonely mountain slope - and then encounters a person in a forum so callous as to call them an 'idiot, bozo or fool' for a presumption that they were 'ill equipped.' I can think of a hundred scenarios that might have happened to these climbers, and not half of them would involve their being able to activate a PLB.

And this may interest you, the climbers in question were not carrying Mountain Locator Units (MLUs), a form of distress signalling device specific to Mt Hood - the MLU broadcasts a signal at 168.54 MHz, and local responders can attempt to track a climber's whereabouts when they believe a party is in distress. Yes, it would be good if the climbers had rented an MLU for this ascent, but there is no guarantees that SAR could capture a signal even if they did - and if only one MLU were rented, it might have also only signalled where the deceased climber ended up. I agree, it seems a worthwhile investment, and I can't explain why they didn't make it, but the plain fact is they didn't, and SAR, the climbers families and friends need to continue on and make their best of the situation.

We're all bozos on this bus, Sue.

At $5, each climber could afford to have their own MLU.