™TRADITIONAL MOUNTAINEERING
™
www.TraditionalMountaineering.org
™ and also
www.AlpineMountaineering.org
™
™
FREE BASIC TO ADVANCED
ALPINE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING INSTRUCTION™
Home
| Information
| Photos
| Calendar
| News
| Seminars
| Experiences
| Questions
| Updates
| Books
| Conditions
| Links
| Search
Climbers Seriously Injured In Fall On Mount Hood
The two climbers fell about 500 feet near the top of Mount
Hood on Saturday,
and a National Guard helicopter was sent to rescue them.
KOMO 4 NEWS
June 17, 2006
Two climbers were rescued Saturday by a National
Guard helicopter crew after they were injured in a 500-foot fall near the top of
Mount Hood.
Aaron Dunlop, 31, of Newberg, and Jeremy Hawkins, 32, of Tigard, were in fair
condition at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland, officials
said.
A third climber in the party, Brad Wood, about 30, of Tigard, walked off the
11,240-foot mountain, the highest peak in Oregon and a popular destination for
Pacific Northwest climbers.
Erik Broms of Portland Mountain Rescue was the leader of a three-man "ready
team" who were at a staging area called the Hogsback, preparing to climb the
final leg to the summit when he saw the trio fall and slide down the ice.
"As soon as we saw them sliding my partner and I started running down to where
they were," Broms said.
Both Hawkins and Dunlop suffered multiple bruises and abrasions and possibly
broken bones, Broms said, and were drifting in and out of consciousness as
rescuers arrived. But both appeared to be alert as they awaited the helicopter,
he said.
It was the first sunny day in Oregon after a long stretch of cloudy and rainy
June weather, and ice coated the snow, Broms said.
"It was a day when you should have been a little more cautious," he said. "They
were doing everything right, but sometimes somebody slips. It's an accident,
it's not anybody's fault."
It was too icy for the trio to brake or halt their slide with their climbing
equipment, Broms said.
The injured climbers were among three parties headed for the summit Saturday
morning. The lead party fell backward, hitting a second party, and the mass of
climbers then fell into a third party, according to Detective Jim Strovink,
spokesman for the Clackamas County sheriff's office, the lead agency in Mount
Hood rescues.
The accident occurred near the area where an Air Force Reserve helicopter
crashed in May 2002 during another mountain rescue operation. The crew survived
the crash, which was captured live on television. The helicopter had been sent
to rescue the survivors of a fall that sent nine climbers tumbling into a
crevasse, killing three of them.
Portland Mountain Rescue sends up "ready teams" every weekend during peak
climbing season, and Broms said he happened to be a short distance from where
the fall ended on Saturday. He estimated it at about 500 feet from the summit.
There were about 40 people on the mountain at the time, Broms said, a smaller
number than usual for the time of year. Nearby climbers included a U.S. Forest
Service wilderness ranger.
A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the Oregon Army National Guard's 1042nd
Medical Company with a crew of five, including a medic, handled the rescue on
Saturday, said Kay Fristad, National Guard spokeswoman.
She said the Guard rescue team has been busy as the summer climbing season
arrives.
"We're on the mountain more than off," Fristad said. "This is the time when the
mountain is changing. The snow is softening, and crevasses are forming. It's not
a good time for climbers."
http://www.komotv.com/stories/43974.htm
Mt. Hood Accident
"My cousin, Jeremy, was in a serious fall (500 feet) off of Mt. Hood, Oregon
yesterday. He was air lifted off the mountain. He has a bad break in his ankle
and some cracked vertebrae. His parents say he is very banged up and doesn't
look like himself at all. He has many bruises and scrapes all over despite
wearing two coats and a helmet. The doctors stitched him up the best that they
could and are hoping that he doesn't have a neck injury. His friend, Aaron, has
a broken jaw and will need surgery, but should be returning home today. Keep
them both in your prayers as well as their wives and parents. All are very
worried."
http://alwaysright-20.blogspot.com/2006/06/mt-hood-accident.html
Note: The same experience all over again! This accident is similar to the one in 2005, when three people were killed in a slide down into the Bergschrund that guards Hog Back. Read about this previous fall. --Webmeister Speik.
WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can in part, be mitigated
Read more . . .
Notable accidents revisited
American Alpine Club
Oregon Section of the AAC
Accidents in North American Mountaineering
What about climbing Mount Hood?
Photos of an ice axe arrest practice seminar
How to Travel over steep snow
Learning to climb steep hard snow slopes 5 pdf pages
Learning roped travel and ice axe arrest
South Sister spring climb for gear and techniques
Mount Shasta - slip on hard snow
About Alpine Mountaineering:
The Sport of Alpine Mountaineering
Climbing Together
Following the Leader
The Mountaineers' Rope
Basic Responsibilities
Cuatro Responsabiliades Basicas de Quienes Salen al Campo
The Ten Essentials
Los Diez Sistemas Esenciales
MOST RECENT
Ten high altitude deaths on Everest confirmed for 2006 climbing season
On Being and Becoming a Mountaineer: an Essay
Climbing Mount Hood in April with Arlene Blum and friends
AAC Report - Accident on Mount Washington ends with helicopter rescue
AAC Report - Fatal fall from Three Finger Jack in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness
Three Finger Jack - OSU student falls on steep scree slope
Mount Huntington's West Face by Coley Gentzel
©2005 by AAI. All Rights Reserved
Solo climber falls from Cooper Spur on Mount Hood
Climber dies on the steep snow slopes of Mount McLaughlin
Warning!! **Climbers swept by avalanche while descending North Sister's Thayer Glacier Snowfield
Mt. Whitney's East Face Route is quicker!
Mt. Whitney's Mountaineer's Route requires skill and experience
Report: R.J. Secor seriously injured during a runaway glissade
Mount Rainer . . . eventually, with R.J. Secor by Tracy Sutkin
Warning!! ** Belayer drops climber off the end of the top rope
Runaway glissade fatal for Mazama climber on Mt. Whitney
Sierra Club climb on Middle Palisade fatal for Brian Reynolds
Smith Rock - Fall on rock, protection pulled out
Mount Washington - Report to the American Alpine Club on a second accident in 2004
Mount Hood - Solo hiker drowns while crossing Mt. Hood's Sandy River
Mount Hood - Solo climber slides into the Bergschrund and is found the following day
Notable mountain climbing accidents analyzed
Mount Washington - Report to the American Alpine Club on the recent fatal accident
Mount Washington - "Oregon tragedy claims two lives"
Mount Jefferson - two climbers rescued by military helicopter
North Sister - climbing with Allan Throop
MOUNT HOOD
