Mt Hood rescues

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retired jerry
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Mt Hood rescues

Post by retired jerry » May 25th, 2020, 5:56 am

Two rescues on Mt Hood.

This would be an example of what not to do during a shut down, exposes a bunch of people. Nice of SAR people to rescue people this time and other times.

One person got lost in whiteout. Cellphone down to 2% charge left. This is an example of what not to do.

On the news they said they found him at 6200' a little above "split rock". I have only heard that term used here :)

The other person was above Yocum Ridge. Avalanche. Broke ankle. Used an InReach which made it easy to find her. This is an example of what to do.

Not that I'm beating up on people too much, we're all doing the best we can.

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adamschneider
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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by adamschneider » May 25th, 2020, 7:56 am

retired jerry wrote:
May 25th, 2020, 5:56 am
On the news they said they found him at 6200' a little above "split rock". I have only heard that term used here :)
But the term is such a no-brainer! What ELSE are you gonna call it? :)

(Also, it appears on both Google Maps and OpenStreetMap.)

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retired jerry
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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by retired jerry » May 25th, 2020, 8:19 am

it appears on gaia too

we need to do an archeological investigation of the source of the name

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Guy
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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by Guy » May 25th, 2020, 8:39 pm

I listened to an interview with someone from MHNF a couple of weeks ago about all the closures. He was specifically asked if climbing Mt Hood was allowed or not. His answer was technically yes but it would be a long climb because all the usual access points like Timberline lodge where off limits!
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johnspeth
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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by johnspeth » May 26th, 2020, 3:39 am

Guy wrote:
May 25th, 2020, 8:39 pm
I listened to an interview with someone from MHNF a couple of weeks ago about all the closures. He was specifically asked if climbing Mt Hood was allowed or not. His answer was technically yes but it would be a long climb because all the usual access points like Timberline lodge where off limits!
Mt Hood climbing via Timberline lodge access is supposedly possible according to the Timberline ski area web site. You pass through check point charlie near the top of the road and tell them you're there for climbing Mt Hood and they send you to the climbers parking lot. All other folks without lift tickets are turned back. Climbers are visible on the Palmer Chair web cam daily. It goes to show you that the situation is fluid so there are no rules in practice.

See the "Back Country Visitors" section of http://www.timberlinelodge.com/coronavirus-updates about half way down the page.

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retired jerry
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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by retired jerry » May 26th, 2020, 6:20 am

I'm not judging anyone, more like lessons for the rest of us

It doesn't matter to me whether it's officially closed, but it would be good to avoid doing things that require being rescued

Like if the weather is bad

Maybe the avalanche was just a freak thing

Maybe climbing an easy route in good weather isn't too bad?

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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by pcg » May 26th, 2020, 7:32 am

retired jerry wrote:
May 25th, 2020, 5:56 am
Not that I'm beating up on people too much, we're all doing the best we can.
No. The guy that got lost could have done better. I'll give some slack to the gal who injured her ankle (although I wonder if she's ever taken an avi course), but the only excuse for the guy that wasn't carrying warm survival gear and doesn't know how to navigate in a whiteout is being so ignorant of basic mountaineering skills that he didn't know what he doesn't know. He shouldn't have been there in the first place. There is ample information in the climber's registration room to warn beginners of potential hazards and how to prepare for them. Either he didn't read, didn't think he needed the instruction, or maybe he never registered for the climb and never saw the information that's displayed for all to see. I'm only being critical because irresponsible stuff like this engangers the lives of others who have to come bail your butt out. I hope he learned a lot from this.

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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by Bosterson » May 26th, 2020, 7:35 am

Jerry, both of your descriptions were wrong, see below. Both were climbers who got in various trouble; neither did it "right" vs "wrong." I think the only takeaway of yours that's apt is to try not to do things right now that require rescue, such as climbing in high avi conditions after the storms and snowfall (up there) we had last week. There's a big difference in the risk of needing rescue between someone climbing Hood on any route, and someone just going for a hike. Mountains are always more unpredictable, even in good conditions.
Rescuers got the first call for help on Friday night, May 22. After summitting the mountain, Nick Larson from Bend was attempting to snowboard back to Timberline Lodge when he ran into bad weather and got trapped in the whiteout conditions. He called 911 and rescue teams got his coordinates.

“It’s a pretty treacherous place,” described Mark Morford with Portland Mountain Rescue. “He was on the west side in very deep snow. Our rescuers were sinking up to their chest.”

The mission lasted through the night and required multiple teams to help. Rescue Leader Erik Broms of Portland Mountain Rescue built a snow cave to warm up Larson when they found him around 2 a.m. before bringing him down the mountain. The journey back was more than nine miles.

“He was extremely hypothermic,” recalled Broms. “I would say he didn’t have much longer until his body was really going to shut down and he would be beyond any point we could bring him back from the field.”
and
As crews were pulling the first climber to safety, another climber visiting the area from Colorado triggered an avalanche. Dani Rudinsky called rescue teams for help after she fell more than a thousand feet.

“That avalanche carried them at least a thousand feet, probably more like 1,500 feet, down a narrow chute and were incredibly fortunate to only sustain minor injuries,” said Morford.

A second team from Portland Mountain Rescue had to use a pulley system to rescue the climber from the tight spot she was in. They were able to transport her on skis down to Timberline Lodge.
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retired jerry
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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by retired jerry » May 26th, 2020, 7:50 am

Thanks for correcting me Nat ;)

They went by skis from above Yocum Ridge to Timberline? That seems like a difficult route. That's the crux of the high route around Mt Hood. Maybe it's easier when there's a lot of snow

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Re: Mt Hood rescues

Post by Bosterson » May 26th, 2020, 9:13 am

retired jerry wrote:
May 26th, 2020, 7:50 am
Thanks for correcting me Nat ;)
Nothing meant by it, just that most news descriptions are wrong about the specifics of climbing accidents, esp the initial reports. ;)

Re skis - it sounds like the girl who fell was climbing the Reid Headwall, took a fall, and ended up down on the Reid Glacier. They would have towed her up to I-Saddle and then down to T-Line. No one was on Yocum itself. Yocum Ridge is a serious and loose alpine climb (some guys on Cascade Climbers did it a month ago) - if you fell anywhere on it, you would likely die.
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