Update: the climber who was found yesterday died of hypothermia, not trauma.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/post_76.html

Gullberg died of hypothermia, said Dr. Chris Young of the state medical examiner's office.

Young said his post-mortem showed what the search team who found him surmised: Gullberg survived "a long, slow" fall and then was able to walk and crawl several hundred yards before expiring.

Hypothermia is an abnormally low body temperature that leads to confusion and lethargy. If untreated it can lead to death.

"He had minor trauma, but nothing lethal," Young said.


"They are extremely physically strong individuals, all three of them were" said Teri Preiss, Vietti's aunt. "I think they're strong enough that they're still alive, But today is our day."

Preiss said she introduced Vietti to Nolan because they both loved climbing and sometimes climbed alone.

Searcher Nate Thompson said climbers hope to search the mountain above 10,000 feet today after finding no sign of Vietti and Nolan at lower elevations. But he stressed that the avalanche danger at that elevation is "extreme."

"We're going to do what we can for as long as we can," said rescue worker Nate Thompson. "We're not putting a cap or a time limit on this."