One of my favorites. That and the Law of the Yukon.

"This is the law of the Yukon, and ever she makes it plain:
"Send not your foolish and feeble; send me your strong and your sane --
Strong for the red rage of battle; sane for I harry them sore;
Send me men girt for the combat, men who are grit to the core;
Swift as the panther in triumph, fierce as the bear in defeat,
Sired of a bulldog parent, steeled in the furnace heat.
Send me the best of your breeding, lend me your chosen ones;
Them will I take to my bosom, them will I call my sons;
Them will I gild with my treasure, them will I glut with my meat;
But the others -- the misfits, the failures -- I trample under my feet.
Dissolute, damned and despairful, crippled and palsied and slain,
Ye would send me the spawn of your gutters -- Go! take back your spawn again."

I think you're right. Also, why not use the cell phone to call 911 besides calling the family? I read that the injured climber had a dislocated shoulder, while that can be painful, if may also be repairable in the field, depending on other circumstances. The article also said they had food for 6 days, which is perhaps more than I would have planned for a 3 day climb, if I was planning a winter ascent of Mt. Hood. The climbs on Mt. Hood are normally a one day trip, top to bottom, 2 at most. That is in the summer season, for sure more difficult in winter.
Weather is always the biggest worry on any climb of large mountains, winter season can be very unpredictable with multi-day storms a real potential.
One thing I can say though, as someone that used to travel to the Northwest every year to climb mountains, it is harder to plan when you live thousands of miles from the mountain. You are not as aware of local weather patterns and all you have to go by is forecasts designed for local cities and you get information from climbing guide books about conditions that you "may encounter".
Climbing mountains can be dangerous, no doubt about that. The other option is to stay at home, watch TV and never try anything exciting. I admire this group for setting a personal goal and seeing it through. Unfortunately, they were victims of the weather and a climbing accident. As a former climber looking back, I know I often took some risks and while doing so, I felt confident in my abilities and those of my partners. Still, we could have had circumstances beyond our control cause us to become a statistic. If I was younger and in better shape, I would still take the risks. You never live at all unless you push the limits from time to time and enjoy the success of overcoming obstacles. Man was meant to explore, challenge and reap the personal rewards. I think it is wrong for people to sit at home, having never tried anything challenging, yet remark unfavorably about those that do.

The entire incident is tragic, but we are not talking about people who, though no fault of their own, got trapped by an UNEXPECTED storm ( In the summer) but three people who choose to climb one of the highest peaks in Washington IN THE WINTER, with a major storm coming in (this is considered highly dangerous (and incredibly foolish) behavior by any one who lives in snow country or works with a SAR team)