9:34 AM Mon, Dec 18, 2006 | Permalink
Teresa Bell
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The following are updates from a news conference regarding the ongoing search for two missing climbers on Mt. Hood. The third climber's body was found on the mountain Sunday.
9 a.m. Monday
According to Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler:
The two climbers who have not yet been found were in an extremely dangerous, unstable area with a 2,500 foot precipice; authorities believe the men may have fallen.
The search has narrowed to the area around the caves found on Sunday. The cave area is above and between the Eliot Glacier head wall and the Cooper Spur route, commonly known as the gulleys. There is a 2,500 foot drop there and a lot of avalanche activity in that area. The area is too dangerous for ground crews.
Because the search is narrowing, authorities will be able to scale it back.
Good weather conditions today -- clear and sunny. Crews will head up the mountain to recover Kelly James' body while other searchers keep looking for the two men. The crews will be airlifted to the summit like they were on Sunday.
Searchers described how they think events unraveled, based on footprints and other information: They believe the three climbers left Tilly Jane and climbed the right gulley to the summit and once at the summit, went south on Summit Ridge and were maybe looking for the entrance to the Pearly Gates, which is the route they had planned to take back down. Probably because of the poor weather, they didn’t get down that route and instead broke off the east side of mountain, dropped down 300 feet near Newton Clark Glacier and dug a cave in which all three men spent the night Friday. They appeared to have dug the cave with a shovel. Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke likely left the cave location Saturday morning and went back north to the summit ridge, where they built another snow cave. We can assume that was the last known location of the two climbers.
When Kelly James made a cell phone call to his family from the snow cave, he basically told them that the descent from where they had climbed was impossible.
When his body was found, it was with the cell phone, which was full of water and no longer works.
At the risk of committing the humanistic heresy of "blaming the victim" I believe that these climbers were primarily selfish, self absorbed individuals. Maybe they were tragically flawed for you weenies. They victimized their famiilies, rescue workers and responsible climbers and adventure oriented people by putting their thrill addiction on the fast track at Christmas time, insuring the destruction of that holiday for their loved ones and dimming it for those poor souls who feel responsible for not saving them. And the icing will probably their families inability to collect life insurance due to their life-style choice. If you are going to embrace this life style do it before you have children and a spouse and pay in advance for your "rescue".
I have repect for all of the personel involved in the recovery attempt. I must comment however on the fact that these climbers made their own decision to attempt this climb. They knew the possibilities of failure before they started. I disagree with the family members as to their expierence. They started this ill fated assent apparently without the proper locaters or avalanche beepers and other equipment needed for this type of assent. I further disagree on their expierence as to an attempt to summit any mountain in the middle of December. The expense to our state and the risk to the people involved in the rescue attempt is unbelieveable. I find the comments and attitude of the family arrogant and theatrical. Just two weeks ago we all held our breath for the father who accidently turned down the wrong road and perished. That was a tragedy. That family hired their own helicopter and cooperated with all those involved in the attempted rescue of their family. These people (the climbers) are extreme sports participants who have fallen victum to their own fate. Unfortunately placing them in front of the nations cameras only allows other inexperienced people to follow in their footsteps. Let us all go on to matters more compelling. We have soliders in worse conditions, doing what they have to do. I pray for them.
After learning that tax dollars in excess of $100,000 have been spent in this rescue mission: I feel that there should now be some requirements for climbers in Oregon. Such as: A Permit, A Locator Beacon, Inspection of Equipment, A Trip Plan for asscent & descent & the time frame for the trip. These should be required for everyone attempting a climb. We are very sorry for the families of these climbers.
The image of the "anchor rope" that the news media shows is not a rope, but the steel cable that use to anchor the summit hut, now long gone. This has been known amoung the rescue people for 5 days, why the media has not corrected it is disconcerning.
I feel deeply for the loss of those 3 climbers on Mt. Hood. I feel that every effort should have been made the day after they disapeared, and not several days later.
I feel that money should be no object in finding those lost on a mountain.
I also want to voice this: what is the difference in spending $10,000 or $50,000 to help those stranded on a mountain, and spending dollars toward our homeless/mentally ill people?
Yes, those are separate subjects, but to me they come down to money. Money is an ugly subject for most Oregonians, who do not wish to have their taxes increased to help combat the growing homelessness/mentally ill problem in downtown Portland.
Folks, it is all about money. The issue is when are we willing to spend it? When folks are stranded on a mountain with their very lives at stake, or when people wander the streets homeless and the quality of their lives is next to zero and they are actually scary to us because of their mental illness?
I used to live in San Francisco where the homeless population took over parts of the city and it was horrible to go downtown shopping without at least a dozen or more people asking for money.
I've heard that San Francisco got their act together, it took them many years.
I'm wondering how long it will take Portland to do the same.
An individual's rights that affect themselves only or primarily should not be regulated by law, but when their actions affect scores of citizens with lethal consequences and tens of thousands of taxpayer tax dollars (which were not doanted) then it is time to make winter high mountain climbs illegal. (or legally with a 100k bond) This tragic disaster has turned into a media goldmine so why would you want to limit the carnage. As a stockholder of CBS but a follower of KGW I am ashamed to be a part of this "human interst story"
to the survey on closing the mountain in the winter. i really think people just need to watch the weather reports for the area before they go to the mountain and people really need to use the beacons.