Missing climber on hood.

[bd2510]

http://www.kgw.com/news/Search-postponed-for-overdue-Mt-Hood-climber-212692041.html

 

59 y.o. training for Ama Dablam. Left tline to climb Leuthold last Saturday.

[dougd]

Seems like this man should be walking out by now...

 

Keeping a good thought, and hoping for him...

 

d

[B Deleted_Beck]

I saw his registry in there when I left for iRock on Saturday morning... I thought to myself, "wow.. I wouldn't climb that right now.. way too warm. Good luck!" Shit you not.

 

I didn't even know about all this till a couple days ago, then I went through my album from the climb and realized I'd taken two or three really good beta shots of the west face from the top of the western chamber. I'm technologically retarded, so I don't know how to zoom and sharpen resolution and all that crap, but I'm waiting for someone from SAR to call me back so I can email them over. Probably won't help much, but at least they show exactly what the glacier and route looked like the morning he was going through there... it's changed a lot in the last week, I can imagine.

[WishICouldClimb]

I was up there in an aircraft last couple of days in support of this search.

 

Morning time seemed to be fairly solid. Afternoons, you'd see little rivers of snow cascading off the mountain.

 

Here is an image from the NW side of the mountain -- notice all that brown? it wasn't there when I was up there on Thursday.

[img:center]https://www.dropbox.com/s/p2l0qnzbuwzxzbd/IMG_20130629_100904.jpg[/img]

Edited June 30, 2013 by WishICouldClimb

[mike1]

The Columbian

[WishICouldClimb]

Saw a group of four at about the 9500 ft level on cathedral ridge. They were still headed up when we last flew by them.

 

They appeared to be sticking to the rocks, which I think was a good thing considering the conditions we were witnessing. (I have minimal mountaineering knowledge).

[B Deleted_Beck]

Saw a group of four at about the 9500 ft level on cathedral ridge. They were still headed up when we last flew by them.

 

They appeared to be sticking to the rocks, which I think was a good thing considering the conditions we were witnessing. (I have minimal mountaineering knowledge).

 

On Saturday? Were you in the white plane?

[WishICouldClimb]

Blackhawk

[B Deleted_Beck]

Blackhawk

 

Do you happen to know where the rope and picket were spotted?

[WishICouldClimb]

Heard about them, don't know where they spotted it. those were spotted by the guys in the Chinook.

 

 

[Seamstress]

Sandy Headwall.

 

Saw the choppers all day, and then they departed. We figured that they ran out of places to look or spotted him. Sheriff's report says the rope, pickett, and body are at 8,400' on the Sandy.

[B Deleted_Beck]

Weird, weird, weird.. So he climbed up onto the Yokum.. Then apparently tried to rap down to the Sandy from a picket... and either rapped off the end or the picket blew?

 

I remember a few years ago a couple guys who accidentally climbed up the couloir to Queens Chair, intending on Leutholds... I believe they had to be rescued by chopper. I wonder if this guy made the same error? I've been on that side a few times, but I've never actually done Leutholds.. I don't know how straightforward the couloir is, but it certainly looks like you just follow the path of least caloric burn. Visibility was crystal clear that morning...

 

Edited June 30, 2013 by Ben Beckerich

[ScaredSilly]

Weird, weird, weird.. So he climbed up onto the Yokum.. Then apparently tried to rap down to the Sandy from a picket... and either rapped off the end or the picket blew?

 

The question is will be where on the Sandy Glacier was he found. Certainly possible he fell along the traverse. Also remember gear can go flying during a fall.

 

I remember a few years ago a couple guys who accidentally climbed up the couloir to Queens Chair, intending on Leutholds...

 

Which couloir are you speaking about? Luethold, Yokum Ridge, Sandy Glacier Headwall, and Cathedral Ridge all meet up at the Queen's Chair.

 

Regardless, bummer to hear about the accident.

[Jason L.]

I'm confused. If he was climbing LC then there's no reason to cross Yocum Ridge or end up on the Sandy.

[DPS]

I'm confused. If he was climbing LC then there's no reason to cross Yocum Ridge or end up on the Sandy.

This confuses me as well. My thought was if in poor weather the climber mistakenly climbed up left of the Leutholds he could have ended climbing up onto the Yocum.

[WishICouldClimb]

I'm having trouble getting the photo to upload directly into the post, so I'll hyperlink it. Red dot is where he ended up.

 

NW side of Hood looking SE

[B Deleted_Beck]

I'm confused. If he was climbing LC then there's no reason to cross Yocum Ridge or end up on the Sandy.

This confuses me as well. My thought was if in poor weather the climber mistakenly climbed up left of the Leutholds he could have ended climbing up onto the Yocum.

 

That pic I posted above is from the morning of, about 8am

[ScaredSilly]

I'm having trouble getting the photo to upload directly into the post, so I'll hyperlink it. Red dot is where he ended up.

 

NW side of Hood looking SE

 

 

Thanks for posting it up. From that location one can only assume that the climber went by Leuthold's and around to Sandy Glacier Headwall. The location is in line with someone going up the headwall.

 

Whether he went by Leuthod's on accident* or on purpose we will never know. Either way sad outcome.

 

*one does not necessarily need to have bad weather to mistake the line of ascent.