Grim update. Conditions make search impossible for foreseeable future.


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


...women are more likely to survive then men....

"Water is more important than food," she said. "Water is more like seven or eight days and in this situation that means fuel."

"a beacon would not have made a difference in this situation. It is not a matter of beacons."

...1 percent chance of finding climbers alive after 48 hours.

...believe there was some kind of accident....

A base of about 1,000 calories a day would help them function. Fewer than that and “you get really weak,” he said.

With the body heat in an enclosed space, temperatures in a snow cave can reach up to 40 degrees while a winter storm could be raging outside.