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WX balloon above Salem clocked winds at 90MPH sustained earlier today. We're at T-Line and we're getting gusts to 40. Hang in there guys...

The following is from the Oregonian. My computer will be out of cell-phone range for a while. Conditions up here are pretty bad... Authorities have identified the trio of stranded climbers as Kelly James, 48, of Dallas, Brian Hall, 37, of Dallas, and Jerry “Nikko” Cooke, 36, of Brooklyn, N.Y. James was injured in the descent; Hall and Cooke left him behind in a snowcave while they descended for help. Searchers this morning tracked a ping from a cell phone at 10,300 feet, authorities said. The signal was transmitted about 4:20 a.m. The call was made from where James is stranded, authorities said. The other two climbers do not have a cell phone with them. Teams of searchers have taken off from Cooper Spur and Timberline to rescue the trio. As many as 20 searchers will attempt to climb to the summit, Hughes said. But already heavy snow is stalling search efforts. A Sno-Cat carrying searchers who set out from Cooper Spur this morning got stuck in snow at 7,200 feet, authorities said. Climbers sometimes carry mountain locator units, which send signals about their whereabouts to rescuers. But search officials said they do not believe the men had such a unit with them on their climb. “We still get plenty of climbers who don’t equip themselves with them,” Hughes said. “It’s not the smart thing to do.” The two who went for help took the Cooper Spur route, the same route the trio took up the mountain, search officials said. The nature of the climber's injuries was not immediately known this morning. James made a phone call to his wife at one point, authorities said. Hood River County sheriff’s Deputy Pete Hughes said the call was “fairly disorganized, from someone who was in a lot of stress and basically not giving good information.” The group told friends they wanted the climb to be a challenge. “They wanted ice, they wanted to climb, they weren’t looking for the easy route,” Hughes said. “That is definitely what they were getting when they took the north side of the route.” So far this morning, at least one search team has left for the summit, officials said. That team departed from Timberline. Another team was to leave from Cooper Spur. Searchers will be making a treacherous ascent in what a Hood River sheriff’s official called hostile conditions. “We have three people who are missing now,” Jerry Brown, the sheriff’s chief deputy, told The Oregonian this morning. “We will have 18 more people on the face that we will be very much concerned about keeping track of.” Brown said conditions on the mountain are hostile. “We don’t know what the wind conditions are at the peak at this time or really above 6,000,” he said. Conditions on the mountain are poor and are expected to deteriorate as the day progresses. Visibility is so poor that an air search has not begun, though the Oregon National Guard is on standby this morning, Hughes said. “The Air National Guard has a team ready to go but we cannot do it with current conditions,” he said. Winds at the 10,000 elevation are up to 70 mph, he said.

Hey ya'll. Apparently the climbers are fairly experienced. Sounds like they've got experience on Rainier, Denali and the Andes. That's the good news. The bad news is they left Friday from Tilly Jane and planned to finish Saturday at T-Line. Of course, if they're that experienced perhaps they're used to digging in for a couple of nights. Sounds like they had bivy sacks, too! I'm told they left a note at the Parkdale ranger station detailing their route and experience. Sounds like they were going climbers right on the Elliot... not the Cooper Spur route. Best of luck to everyone...

I'm en route. Spent today patrolling at Meadows. Got knocked over by a 70+ MPH gust at the top of Cascade. The WX is Ghetto. Poor guys. More later...

Highway 35 will reopen this Saturday. I just got off the phone with ODOT's media flaks. So much for having that part of the mountain all to ourselves... HIGHWAY 35 REOPENS SATURDAY, DEC. 9 The Oregon Department of Transportation has announced that a section of Highway 35, which had been severely damaged by debris flows Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, will reopen to traffic Saturday, Dec. 9 at 5 a.m. – a week ahead of the original estimate of Friday, Dec. 15. “ODOT, in partnership with Tri-State Construction, has stepped up to the challenge and delivered for the people of Oregon,” Gov. Ted Kulongoski said. “I saw first-hand the damage to Highway 35 and the fact that they’ve completed their work a full week early will not only allow the ski resort to re-open this weekend, but will also help the economies of Hood River and Clackamas counties.” ODOT’s contractor, Tri-State Construction, Inc., has been working 12-hour days since Tuesday, Nov. 14 to rebuild the 2.5 mile section of Highway 35 that was completely washed out. Construction highlights: · There are more than 50 pieces of equipment currently in use (excavator, bulldozers, loaders, etc.) · There are 50 dump trucks operating in the construction zone · Workers have moved approximately 400,000 cubic yards of material Although the road will reopen Saturday, ODOT estimates the work to be 50% complete. Significant work will continue off the highway during the coming months. This work should not affect traffic. For information on Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort visit: www.skihood.com Public event An event and press tour is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8 at a location to be determined. Media will be notified as soon as the location is identified. What Happened On Monday, Nov. 6 and Tuesday, Nov. 7, a massive debris flow and sudden changes to the paths of several rivers on the east side of Mt. Hood severely damaged Highway 35. About 2.5 miles of the road were washed out, undercut and/or covered by massive boulders (some larger than pickup trucks) and mud. An estimated 2 million cubic yards of material—mud, trees and boulders—washed down the mountainside. Gov. Kulongoski toured the scene with ODOT officials and community leaders on Nov. 21 and pledged to expedite the work to get the road repaired as soon as possible to minimize any economic impacts on the surrounding communities. Impact The White River dug a new channel through the road, burying the old channel (both over and under the White River Bridge) in mud and boulders and completely washing out a section of the highway north of the bridge. Washouts and undercuts also occurred at Clark and Newton Creeks and along the East Fork of the Hood River. ##ODOT##

Dude, the ice looked sick today! By the way, is there a climber named Corey out there? One of the TV crews at my employer interviewed him today when he got a ticket. Sounded like he was headed up for some climbing today! I'm jealous. I had to work in it...

Arc, Come visit us in the patrol room when you get down. Of course, you might need PMR if you try the S-side this weekend...

From this weekend: A 19-year-old college student from Washington County had to be rescued while trying to climb Mount Hood. Chris Dreher and a friend were headed up the mountain Sunday when the friend apparently started suffering from altitute sickness and turned around. Dreher kept going but fell after losing a crampon at the 10,800 foot level. When he couldn't regain his footing he decided to stay put and yell for help. Another climber heard his cries and called 9-1-1 on a cell phone. Several dozen searchers from the Clackamas County Sheriff's office and Portland Mountain rescue reached Dreher late Sunday afternoon and escorted him down to Timberline Lodge. Rescuers say Dreher--who was not injured--was not prepared for the strenuous climb. He didn't have a helmet or the right boots and wasn't carrying a cell phone.

Yeah. That's nuts. Unless you like dodging boulders.

Dude, that's jacked, yo. Maybe I should run for office so I can get a helo-lift UP on a powder day... This totally went under my radar. I'll look into it and come back with an answer.

Dude, My wife got campy last year when we returned from Peru. Hate to bring bad news... but she had complications from the thing for months. She was sick to her stomach on and off for three or four months. We're pretty sure she got it from the food, not the water. Beware of the salads. We're pretty sure someone chopped veggies on a cutting board after they cut raw chicken.

Wow. I'm so glad you're OK. So many of us have taken similar risks without any consequences. Thanks for your frank self-assessment. See you on the mountain!

Hey it's Brian at Channel Two. FYI - looks like the Bergschrund is open. We got an email from a group of doctors today who were up climbing yesterday. They rescued a snowboarder who dropped into the schrund while he was making his way down. The doctors rigged a crevasse rescue system and pulled him out. Victim was a 45 y/o male. Best part... he was OK! Anyways... guess it's already that time of the year! Kudos to the dudes who rescued the boarder. One of my non-climber coworkers is working on the story for 5pm... we'll see how he does.

Yeah. Koala sucks. Stay away. Please.

Heard a rumor about two climbers getting buried by a cornice avalanche in the Mt Hood climbers lot. Apparently they were rescued by a group of Mazamas. True? False? This is the climber curiosity in me... not the reporter.

I use a Globalstar on a pretty regular basis (once or twice a week) and have found that it has more like 20 hours of standby time. The real bummer is that the things have to be out in the open with their antennas extended in order to recieve calls. Just clipping it to your belt and walking/driving around won't allow you to recieve calls. If you're in a position like a base camp or a parked vehicle for a long period of time you can leave it out in the open and receive calls... but it's not very reliable.

Dude, Every boyscout troop and annoying climbing club (not mazamaing any names here) will be applying for the permit. It's gonna be twice as hard to get a permit cuz everyone's all psyched about the dome. Better do it in the winter when you don't need a permit...

Looks like the mountain's opening again!!!!! Finally, a chance for skiers to catch some sick freshies and for snowmobilers to (hopefully) rocket over the crater rim and plunge into the center of the earth... VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) - Officials at the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument say a trail to the rim of the crater may be reopened this year. That would offer climbers a view of the domebuilding eruption that began in the early fall of 2004. Trails above 48-hundred feet have been closed since then because officials feared that steam blasts could hurl rocks into the air. So far no decision has been made, but last month officials began accepting conditional climbing reservations. The trail extends from Climber Bivouac to the south rim of the gaping -shaped crater left by the eruption of St. Helens on May 18th, 1980. Monument manager Tom Mulder says interest is high, and reopening the trail could provide valuable learning opportunities if safety can be assured. The climbing season traditionally begins on May 15th, and the number of permits historically has been limited to 100 a day, half by reservation and half by a daily lottery.

You guys are core!!!! That's pretty cold for Ore-gone.

I've interviewed Phelps before. He was protesting outside of Matthew Shepard's funeral in Wyoming. Members of his congregation were carrying signs saying "God hates fags." I argued that we shouldn't give the man any airtime or cover his story. Now media organizations nationwide are ignoring this whacko. He is just desperate for attention and a member of a miniscule minority.

Yeah, how was the snow? Bulletproof and windblown or soft and fluffy?

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) - A shivering Bryan Cross has been reunited with his family and suffered from only mild hypothermia after spending the night in the snow. The 13-year-old told rescuers that he went up yesterday afternoon to make a last run off of the Cascade lift. He went down a trail and realized that he was in an unfamiliar area. He says he hiked back up to what he thought was the top of the trail and became lost. Cross says he huddled under a tree and fell asleep. He said at one point he heard searchers calling to him and yelled back but they didn't hear him. He says that when he woke up this morning he spotted the search helicopter and flagged them down. More than 40 searchers were involved in the effort last night and about 50 searchers participated today. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Let's hope Columbia's quality doesn't rub off on Mtn Hardware and Montrail. That's a bummer. My Montrails are the best approach shoes I've ever owned...

Does this have anything to do with the size of one's pickup truck?

I'm in too. C U there.