Texan

I do not mean to be either impertinent or irreverent about the deceased and the missing. I am respectful of what they accomplished in their lives, and of what you other climbers have related of your expertise as well. We guys here in Dallas who know/ knew Brian Hall do not climb (but wish we had the necessary skills) are trying to understand what happened up there on the NF of Hood. What is the general consensus among SAR and the non- rescue experienced climbers about how the 3 men got separated and what went wrong to cause the climb to end so tragically? Is it weather only, since Mr. James autopsy disclosed no pre-existing injury or illness before hypothermia claimed him? I know the storm was a very big contributor, of course, but these men were used to climbing in all conditions. An unknown variable such as loss of gear or a different type of accident? I know it doesn't bring them back, but we could accept our friend's presumed demise better if we understood what caused things to go so wrong. Thank you. I know this is not a SAR report, but I am not a troll and didn't want to ask in an area where no one from the forum is participating. I respect the regular members of this forum very much and wish you many years of happy mountaineering. I will be reading about your climbs here from now on. You have touched many lives through the telling of your own stories. Many of us have read quite a bit throughout CC.com. Play hard!!! Kenny Dallas, TX

Cindy, darlin', We are praying very hard for God's blessings and mercy upon the men, their families, and all who know and love them. I believe that all of the people in the world who are following this tragedy are praying as one with you, with me, with my friends... God is the only one who determines whether we live to take our next breath or not. His perfect will is so difficult to understand through our imperfect eyes. I am trying so hard to help my friend who is not doing well over the thought of Brian not being found well and safe today. Prayers for a better tomorrow for the two lost climbers, and for each of us who care about them, and gentle love for the one who is in heaven, and for his family left to mourn him. Signing off now. God bless you all. Kenny, David, Lewis, Frank and Devon Dallas, TX

Let's not forget that Nikko posted to THIS forum in November as fuggedaboutit saying that he couldn't find good winter trail maps for Mt. Hood, asking about lodging, wanting to know how to get to certain trails, if one trail was a better approach than another, what size and type gear to take... And HE was the leader of the climb!!! They may have been experienced. but this is not the same as meticulous preparation!!!

Won't we know more about who built the caves when we know exactly where the second one was located, how each one's opening was oriented, and how well they each were dug in? We have wondered if James could have made 2 snow caves, one before the driving icy snow and 100+ MPH winds hit which had exposure or was unstable in some way, and a second, perhaps rudimentary one hours later, trying to stay warmer, drier, to do something to aid in his survival. I hope we know more very soon. I have buddies who know Brian, we've been glued to our TVs and the Internet all week. I was the one who felt compelled to offer the hypothetical situation of Brian and Nikko dying first. No one else on this forum has been able to breach the topic, and I felt it was time to try to understand what might have happened. We hope not and pray for Brian, Nikko, and all of the families. I have a guy here who is taking this extremely hard.. I volunteered to post here. Thanks for allowing me to. Kenny

True, he said one was flying his plane, and the other had gotten to town. So, he was either in an altered state of consciousness at that time, or he was in a state of denial/ shock which we use as a method of short term self- preservation. We think he was in preservation mode, wanting to live, to have hope, and for his family to have hope for him. We think the other two fell to their deaths together on the NF. One of our buddies is a pilot, and everyone who knows him knows that he hopes that God takes him home while he is doing what he loves best- flying. He has said as much, with the caveat that he doesn't want anyone to be injured or hurt when he goes and that he hopes it happens when he is quite a bit older. Maybe some of you who are climbers can relate to the desire to pick and choose your time and way of death... I don't know. We believe that it is possible that one of the other guys ( not sure if it was Brian or Nikko) had the same absolute love of flying and this was Kelly's way of saying " He's not with us any longer". James wasn't delirious or confused about several things he told his family. He was also able to dial the correct phone number, whether on speed dial or not, he had to remember WHICH speed dial number and do it correctly. I don't see that as a person with a low Glasgow Coma Scale score, but I could be wrong.

Hi, I'm from Dallas. A group of us have been glued to all available news sources. First, thank you for what you seasoned climbers have offered in the way of information and HOPE for our fellow Texan climbers. I haven't seen it said here, but we have another theory and I hope no one minds if I put it into words here. James was babbling about where his other two climbing partners were. We don't think this is because he was too sick to be coherent, we think he was in shock because they died first and he survived alone, grieviously injured. He was able to tell his family what he had with him in the way of provisions.. I don't think he wanted to tell his family that he was alone on Mt. Hood, hurt, with his partners dead. JMHO, and please know that we are praying and hoping for the best, but keep coming back to this very heartbreaking theory. Kenny ~~~~God bless their families, and God bless each of you. Stay safe, play hard!!!~~~~~~~~~