More people missing in Oregon

Just saw on CNN that three climbers have gone missing in Oregon. They were attempting to scale a peak called Mt Hood and got into some trouble. Apparently they have 'minimal equipment' and, although experienced, are not familiar with that particular climb. The route they were attempting is considered extremely tough. Makes you wonder what people are thinking, especially considering the James Kim incident is still very much in the news...

Here's a link: edition.cnn.com/2006/US/12/11/missing.climbers.ap/index.html

Oh Boy, here we go again. Thousands climb Mt. Hood every year and every year people have to be rescued from it. (Not to mention the ones who die.) We really need to get some kind of permit system going that would require climbers to carry a locator beacon. The cost of just one search and rescue could buy alot of beacons to be loaned out to climbers. A modest permit fee could keep beacon program going.

[font=&quot]I agree a PLB with GPS would save a lot of trouble for all involved.

Outfitters should start renting them like they do bear proof food storage containers.

Although I wonder if people would go PLB happy and activate S&R more often.
Many callouts seem to be false alarms or unnecessary. [/font]

Looks to me that Oregon is just too dangerous. They should place warning signs up with the "Welcome to Oregon" signs. Who owns that place, they should be sued!

Or maybe we should move to condem the entire state, seize it via emminent domain, and turn it into a HUGE shopping mall.

Back to the point of the thread though...this batch of folks knowingly and intentionaly went where they did unlike the Kim family who got lost on accident. I say if you want to climb Mt. Hood be my guest, just don't expect to call 911 for help.

THey did a big study in Alaska about those beacons, and they were universally wonderful. There were only a handful of accidental or non-emergency activations, not enough to be a problem. That was one of the main fears that everyone had, that they would just have them running all over the place for no good reason. That turned out not to be too much trouble so the frequencies they use are now open everywhere for them. I have one on my "buy before you go do anything stupid away from civilization" list

With everyone carrying a PLB, your local rescue team could be very small as they wouldn't need all the manpower for searching anymore.

I used to ski Mt. Hood - you'd have to be nuts IMO to go on a climb there in the middle of winter with minimal equipment. Even down at Timberline where the ski lodge is it gets crazy cold and windy. That's just crazy.

Natural selection - removal from the gene pool; seems to be working.

Cliff

Cliffnopus said:

Natural selection - removal from the gene pool; seems to be working.

Cliff

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Agreed. Now to re-introduce the grizzly bear to our national parks.

Agreed. Now to re-introduce the grizzly bear to our national parks.

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Anyone who goes into grizzly country should be heavily armed, that is not allowed in a National Park.

Aw heck boy.........them Grizzlys is just big fluffy pets.

See....watch this....

Cliff

maybe to avoid nuisance activation of the locator it could be designed with an annoying tone that sounded every 4 or 6 or 8 hours and had to be manually turned off- or else the units activates..would eliminate spur ofthe moment activations, but of course delay bonafide activation..unless the victims were unable to activate it..

so how often do the search and rescue go out each year? and do thet get paid?

David_Campen said:

Anyone who goes into grizzly country should be heavily armed, that is not allowed in a National Park.

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Well, it ought to be.

BMB
The search and rescue teams that are doing the actual climbing are all volunteer as far as I know. They spend their own money and their time off training to help local officials on SAR missions. Most of the searchers are probably taking vacation days or unpaid time off to help look for these guys. They are true heroes.

Things aren't looking good for these guys. It's been several days now. Weather conditions are ugly. Freezing rain Tuesday night. 50 to 60 mph wind. They picked up one guy's cell ping near the summit at 11,000'. Rescuers have not been able to get above 7,000-9,000' level. Because of the bad weather the National Guard chopper couldn't go higher than 6,000' yesterday. Today looks just as bad or worse. Most of the search is on foot and the SAR guys are getting worn out. They have to avoid becoming victims themselves.

I hope they knew how to make an igloo or at least a snow cave. I remember snow survival training. I hate the cold. I almost died of hypothermia once. It makes you slow and clumsy. Not just your body, but your mind too. Whenever the temperature drops even slightly, the chill is still there in your bones ever after.

Latest report indicates more bad weather expected for the next 48 hours. If they have found decent shelter they could sit it out. Just depends if they have the equipment to maintain their core body temp. A Jetboil stove would be worth its weight in gold to those fellows, sure hope they remembered to pack one.

Yes, JetBoil is amazing. Self contained method for heating and drinking out of the same cup. I love those things.

They were mentioned as being experienced climbers, but not to that area, so I hope they came prepared.

Good luck to all involved.

Yes, JetBoil is amazing. Self contained method for heating and drinking out of the same cup. I love those things.

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Yeah, I really like my Jetboil, the only problem is that they still need to be shielded from the wind to work. MSR has a new competitor to the Jetboil. There is a review in the latest "Rock and Ice" magazine. In even a 6-7 mph wind the Jetboil had trouble bringing water to boil but the MSR was much more effective. The downside is that the MSR device is heavy and pricey.

EV_007 said:

I agree a PLB with GPS would save a lot of trouble for all involved.

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Maybe. Certainly it wouldn't hurt, but there is a big difference between being lost in the woods and on the top of a mountain in a white out. It sounds like SAR can't even get up there even if they knew where they were.

-john