Oregon crews find 1 climber dead and another seriously injured after avalanches delay rescue mission
“One of the injured climbers was able to call 911 by cell phone, and also used a Garmin inReach device to notify an emergency contact,” Deputy John Wildhaber, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said in the release.
A rescue effort was launched, but conditions “were extremely challenging,” Wildhaber said.
Rescuers attempted to reach the climbers during the night but high winds, including 50 mph gusts, “knocked rescuers off their feet,” Wildhaber said. “The snow was deep and heavily wind-loaded, so with every upward step, rescuers sunk to their upper thighs.”
Crews made it to within 700 feet of the injured climbers by 11:40 p.m. Sunday but were unable to reach them, the release said.
As daylight improved visibility Monday, more rescue crews were launched and eventually reached the climbers. One of them had died and the other was “critical but ambulatory” and evacuated from the mountain for treatment, the sheriff’s office said.
“Due to the severe avalanche hazard and poor conditions, rescuers made the tough decision to leave the deceased on the mountain, with plans to mount a recovery mission when conditions improve,” the news release said.
Four teams consisting of 32 rescuers were involved in the Monday rescue effort, in addition to volunteers providing support, the release said.
“There were at least two natural-release avalanche events on Mt. Hood on March 7, the second day of the search, underscoring the concern for rescuer safety,” the release said.
The sheriff’s office didn’t release the names of the climbers.
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