Mt. Hood first responders work to remove an injured climber off of the mountain.Portland Mountain Rescue
On Saturday Nov. 25, deputies from the Clackamas County (Oregon) Sheriff’s Office helped rescue a mountain climber who had fallen on Mt. Hood.
The 36-year old woman from Portland was descending the popular South Side route on Mt. Hood when she slipped, fell several hundred feet, and was injured, the sheriff’s office reports.
Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR) personnel were first to respond. The sheriff’s office says they were on the mountain as a “ready team” and saw the climber fall. “They were then able to reach the patient, stabilize her, and provide initial medical care,” officials say. PMR called 911, summoning Clackamas County deputies.
Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue coordinators set up a command center at Timberline Lodge. Additional PMR and Hood River Crag Rats rescuers assembled at Timberline Lodge and deployed with additional equipment.
It took seven hours to transport the injured climber off of the more than 11,000-foot-high mountain.
“Using complex rope systems, rescuers transported the patient in a litter to the Hogsback snow ridge, where she was transferred to a different litter and taken down the mountain to the Timberline parking lot. After arriving at Timberline at approximately 9:30 p.m., she was then transported to an area hospital,” the sheriff’s office says.
The rescue involved personnel from the Clackamas County SO, Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, Portland Mountain Rescue, the Hood River Crag Rats, American Medical Response's Reach and Treat Team, Mountain Wave Emergency Communications, and the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.
Portland Mountain Rescue offered the following post-mission analysis:
“Mountain rescue is a technical endeavor that requires numerous skilled rescuers, experienced sheriff’s deputies, coordinated leadership, and dedication to our mountaineering community. Mt. Hood is not a beginner mountain — especially in winter conditions. The short days and lower temperatures mean that the snow tends to be very hard and icy, and the route conditions tend to be much steeper and technical. Also descending the mountain in icy conditions is much more difficult than ascending. Only those with expert mountaineering and ice climbing skills should attempt Mt. Hood in winter, especially when there have been long dry spells with no precipitation. Appropriate and thorough training is critical.”
