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Saturday, December 16, 2006
Air search yields pair of climbers on north side; searchers doubt they are the lost climbers
Searchers on a Black Hawk helicopter spotted two unidentified climbers at 9,200 feet on Mount Hood this morning, a discovery that has sent search teams scrambling to figure out if the pair are the lost men they’ve been looking for or rogue climbers.
The men were spotted about 11 a.m. from the air near Tie In Rock. Searchers think the men, who do not appear to be in distress, are recreational climbers who are either unaware of a climbing ban on Mount Hood today or ignored the order. The men did not wave or signal to the helicopter. There was no indication the men could be rescuers.
According to radio chatter about the discovery, one searcher said: “What I see is two guys about 500 yards off of Tie In Rock, sort of in the middle of the slope. Looks like one guy is standing over the top of a guy who is prone on the snow.”
If the men turn out to be unrelated to the search effort, their discovery has been distracting to the dozens of searchers scaling the mountain today in what is a major push to find three climbers who have been lost for more than a week.
Another helicopter is preparing to check out the men and a search team is being dispatched from Stone Shelter, which is about a three-hour hike to the location where the unidentified men were spotted.
Meanwhile, the first of six rescue climber groups ascending the south face cleared 10,000-foot elevation by 11:15 a.m. only to encounter white-out conditions and high winds. They immediately dug snow caves for cover.