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Mt. Hood Accident?


Ursa_Eagle

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Oregon National Guard - Oregon Army National Guard supports rescue - 06/24/05

The Oregon Army National Guard launched two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters at 8:55 a.m. today from the Army Aviation Support Facility #1 in Salem to aid in the rescue of a person on the east side of Mount Hood.

 

The Office of Emergency Management said the person is lying motionless in the snow at a location near Government Camp.

 

<no more pertinent info>

 

Anyone know anybody who was going up today? I've only found the info on KGW as of yet (and there's not much there...)

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Didn't make it. My condolences to the victim's family.

11:44 a.m. - Oregon Army National Guard finds climber deceased

Press Release from: Oregon National Guard

 

The Oregon Army National Guard recovered a climber from the east side of Mount Hood this morning. The victim was found deceased after what was described as an unsurvivable fall.

 

Soldiers hoisted the victim into a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and then took him to Mount Hood Meadows where he was turned over to officials with Hood River County.

Edited by Camilo
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I guess they were on Cooper Spur.

Whoever it was didn't make it frown.gif

 

MT. HOOD – A climber who fell on the east side of Mt. Hood Friday morning was found dead, authorities said.

 

The man, who was not identified, died from what was described as an "unsurvivable" fall.

...

The climber fell about 6:15 a.m. on the Cooper Spur route, in the area of Newton Clark glacier, according to witnesses and Hood River County dispatch.

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Good news about b-rock. Bad news about whoever it was. frown.gif

 

From KOIN news website:

 

A search plane reportedly spotted the climber's motionless body at about 8,400 feet on Newton Clark Glacier on the Cooper Spur route. He apparently fell about 1,200 feet.

 

Either the guy fell from above the Spider (unlikely) or someone at these news organizations needs a copy of Oregon High. rolleyes.gif

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A search plane reportedly spotted the climber's motionless body at about 8,400 feet on Newton Clark Glacier on the Cooper Spur route. He apparently fell about 1,200 feet.

 

Either the guy fell from above the Spider (unlikely) or someone at these news organizations needs a copy of Oregon High. rolleyes.gif

 

If you've ever climbed the Wy'East chimney in very soft-snow conditions then you'll understand there is a moderate pucker-factor involved in being only about 150 feet above a near-vertical drop while on a 50 degree slope. (aka, The Black Spider) I suspect this is the deal here...but maybe not?

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...who he was with?

solo = not with anyone.

 

So Couloir, what do you call it when you free-solo something with a partner who is also free-soloing?

 

I call it "soloing." But you can do it WITH someone.

 

Not trying to be boxing_smiley.gif, but I think you're implying that Juan's question is a dumb one, which it isn't.

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So Couloir, what do you call it when you free-solo something with a partner who is also free-soloing?

 

I call it "soloing." But you can do it WITH someone.

 

Not trying to be boxing_smiley.gif, but I think you're implying that Juan's question is a dumb one, which it isn't.

wave.gif My only point was that from all reports the guy was alone...COMPLETELY alone. Maybe I was the one that misunderstood Juan's question (if I did Juan, I apologize).

 

I agree with you about the different kinds of soloing. I guess to me, it's context. I suppose you could say that two guys (or 3 or 4 or whatever) could "free-solo" anything. I would call that soloing. One guy, one crux, unroped. "I soloed the Eiger Norwand." "I soloed Mt. Defiance." It's all relative. And given the follow-up info we have about this cat, his friends bailed and he went up ALONE. Which in my judgement, on this route, on this day, may not have been a wise choice.

 

Note to all: If I used this thread inappropriately to answer goatboy's question, I apologize. He and I should have started a new thread to discuss these issues.

Edited by Couloir
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I understand your point Couloir, and no offense taken. I have read that others watched him fall, which made me think it was a pair or more on the route (including the deceased), who were climbing unroped (which I don't believe was the case), or that he was in fact without partner, but not alone on the route, which is what the media implied. I believe a pair of brothers watched him fall, according to the Seattle Times obituary today.

 

In any event, for what it is worth, I consider it soloing to be without partner even if you are not alone on the route. If complete solitude were required to be considered solo climbing, then we'd have to go pretty far afield to truly solo.

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Sorry Morph. I must have missed the lesson on what can be written on a thread involving a climber's death. I thought factual info and questions related thereto were fair game. My bad. Thanks for setting me straight, whoever you are.

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