I found airplane wreckage on Shellrock Mountain (gorge)

[Chip Down]

Yep, that's probably it. I don't imagine there have been a lot of plane crashes on Shellrock (fka Shell Mountain). But how did you find that, Peabody?

Funny caption: "pilot of death plane".

They say it was crumpled against the rock face, which is a bit of hyperbole.

Anyway, I did send an email to HRC Sheriff asking about general guidance for what hikers should do when they encounter such things, and also asked if they had any specific knowledge of this site.

[Chip Down]

But how did you find that, Peabody?

Oh! Just search using "Shell Mountain" instead of Shellrock!

[Limey]

Great find Peabody.

Now Chip, you have to go find the one in the Viento Ridge area.

[Peabody]

But how did you find that, Peabody?

Oh! Just search using "Shell Mountain" instead of Shellrock!

Searched for Plane Crash Gorge on the Oregonian archives. Really wished I knew (remembered) about that whole Shellrock / Shell name thing. In hindsight searching for Shell Death Plane would have gotten me there sooner.

You can access the newspaper's archive free from the Multnomah County website if you have a Multnomah County Library card.
The Historical Oregonian (1861-1987)
The Oregonian (1987-present)

There have been quite a few "death planes" in the Gorge. Some of the ones I read about were Viento Ridge, Pepper Mt, one above Multnomah Falls, and one on Larch Mt. Who knew that the Gorge was very Bermuda Triangle-esque.


Edit: Holy crap! Just searched shell mountain plane crash on google and the second result was an article about the crash, this thread was the first result.

[Chip Down]

Yep, that's probably it. I don't imagine there have been a lot of plane crashes on Shellrock (fka Shell Mountain)...

Anyway, I did send an email to HRC Sheriff asking about general guidance for what hikers should do when they encounter such things, and also asked if they had any specific knowledge of this site.

Sunday afternoon I got a call from the Sheriff himself. Said he was thinking about checking it out, and wanted some specifics. I explained that the mystery seemed to be solved thanks to Peabody, and we agreed there was no need to investigate further. I said "That must be it; it's unlikely there are multiple crash sites on Shellrock." He replied "well, actually..."

Turns out there's a fabric Piper in the shale on the southeast side. Problem is, how is southeast defined? Do we draw lines down and right from the summit? From the center of the mountain? Or is that entire third of the mountain, as defined by its ridges, considered the southeast side, even where it's actually northeast of the summit? Hmmm...

Don, when you find it, be sure to report back.

edit: I see I got a couple emails too. The orange X or cross is apparently most common for wreckage that could be seen from the air, so other pilots know it's been investigated.