mike_mathews

FWIW....., Sunday, December 17, 2006, Oregonian. “About 730 people got lost or needed rescue in Oregon last year. Only 24 were climbers, and fewer than 12 percent came from out of state.” Susan Nielson columnist for Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/susan_nielsen/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1166234137153910.xml&coll=7 Same resource questions go into whether there is a paid or volunteer fire department, ski patrol, or a mixture. Here is the site for annual Oregon SAR reports, etc. http://www.oregon.gov/OOHS/OEM/tech_resp/sar.shtml Gruss Gott, positive thoughts for the families. Danke. There's one more group involved in the search and rescue work done on Mt Hood, one that very few folks will see: the Forest Service. Almost all of Hood is a federally designated wilderness area; there are no mechanical devices allowed within the boundaries and the Forest Service is required to manage the wilderness area in accordance with Congress' wishes. Every helicopter overflight and C-130, as well as any landing, requires a special sign-off from the regional head ranger and this goes back to Washington DC for review. So ground-based SAR is the first action taken on Hood, usually with excellent and positive results. So there are great suggestions on this thread for higher-intensity SAR techniques and activities, but there are limitations on Hood that are beyond what most people see, although PMR, CragRats, the 304th and others are very familiar with the process. You can bet there will be another very professional review of this SAR incident when everything is complete and any possible improvements considered. BTW, I don't climb much anymore and certainly not at the level of the climbers on this board, but I do spend my summers hiking trail 600, mostly on the north side, as a Wilderness Steward, a volunteer USFS program that covers and cares for the wilderness area. Wilderness stewards evangelize LNT and work with the "hikers" to ensure the wilderness is protected and the "hikers" remain safe. The Mt Hood Wilderness is heavily used by hundreds of thousands of people each summer, some who venture into the very area of this search wearing flip-flops and shorts. These same SAR teams we've seen for the last week help haul lost kiddies and everyone else out of slightly lower elevation locations during the summertime that we see on-screen today. I, for one, am extremely happy to have the sheriff call them when someone doesn't show up on time or is declared lost. Thank you to all the SAR folks. Mike

Press conference right now at http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=57406&live=yes