Posted on 12/17/2006 4:26:48 PM PST by Kaslin
HOOD RIVER, Ore. — The body of one of the three climbers who have been missing for 10 days on Mount Hood was discovered in a snow cave late Sunday afternoon.
Rescuers dropped search teams near the mountain's 11,239-foot summit from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter flown by pilots who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq. The pararescue team members scaled 300 feet down the nearly vertical face of the northeastern face of the mountain to reach a snow cave that was spotted earlier in the day.
The team discovered two ice axes, some rope and a sleeping bag in the cave. The body was discovered in a second cave nearby, officials said.
There has been no word from climbers Kelly James, Brian Hall or Jerry "Nikko" Cooke since Dec. 10 when James made a distress call to family members. A cell phone tower picked up a signal from James' cell phone on Tuesday that appeared to have originated from the vicinity of the snow cave.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I have noticed that there are certain monitors who will pull a thread if you try to post a breaking news article that is not click able yet. Why they don't wait is beyond me
Holy smoke, that is beyond amazing, unreal. You would think at an altitude like that it must be like flying in a vacuum for a helicopter. What the hell are they using to find enough air molecules for the lift? A plane compensates though speed, but a freggin` helicopter can only go so fast.. Unless it had some movement akin to a jet? Is that pic the actual helicopter?? Impossible!
Holy sh*t, I missed this; "Landing AND take off"? No way, noooooo way! Sorry, I don`t believe it.
Seems as though FR is caught up in a morass of technicalities here, very few of which are understandable to the average freeper. Very, very cryptic and frustrating.
I've been that kind of cold ... and I remembered, the next day, having read Jack London's "To Build a Fire" back in Junior High.
Frightening.
It's real! Never under estimate the human spirit. Pray that the two guys on the mountain are rescued tomorrow.
you sure put out quite a few $$$$$$ figures. how much is the cost of a searchers life worth in the event he is killed looking for somebody lost up on the mountain?
I guess it depends where your climbing. The guys that did the first winter ascent of Denali recorded temperatures of 148 degrees below zero.
I don't think I'd want either rocks falling or temperature falling.
"How much has been spent to find these guys (who ignored weather warnings)?"
Why don't you make that tonight's homework, and come back when you have an answer. Just for fun, give us the per capita taxpayer spending for Oregon and the U.S. military support.
Have fun.
By the way, there were no severe weather warnings when they went up last Thursday.
Well I guess they could've been climbing with two axes each and the only gear ditched belonged to the guy who stayed behind in the cave. Unclear from this report exactly what kind of axes were found, etc. For steeper ice routes, it is common to use two axes.
I once rode out a storm in a cave, but we were very well provisioned and rescue was not an option. That adventure is here: St Elias
Lots of Monday morning quarterbacking going on, huh?
In 2003 NPS spent 00.13 percent (.0013) of its budget on *all* SAR activities. Using Yosemite as a benchmark, climbing incidents were less than 1/4 that of hiking rescues.
And as Issaquahking pointed out, mountain rescue teams are non-profit 501(c)3 organizations and typically 100 percent volunteer. They do not charge for their services.
"Thank God we have the Government as our Nanny.
Darwin may have been on to something."
Remember that when when you engage in some risk-free auto driving and a drunk driver totals your car.
"Nancy" will happily send an ambulance to your service.
"You would think at an altitude like that it must be like flying in a vacuum for a helicopter"
I believe it was during the infamous 1996 Everest expedition (Rob Hall et al) that the Nepali Army sent a Huey up to 21,000 feet for a rescue at Camp 1.
At the time it was the highest heli rescue ever. Apparently very dodgey maneuverability.
Admin. got up on the wrong side of the rock?
"how much is the cost of a searchers life worth in the event he is killed"
I hate to go through this ignorant discussion again, but...
The mountain rescue teams are all volunteer. They're not public servants. They take time from their jobs to do mountain rescue. They are climbers. They are mountaineers.
Climbing is every bit about comraderie as anything else. It's about pride in the sport. It has a code.
I'm not going to explain what the code it. But one element is the strong ethic to help climbers in need whenever possible.
I know you won't get it. So there's no point pressing the issue.
"Lots of Monday morning quarterbacking going on, huh?"
There is a whole alien mindset that freaks out when a climbing rescue take place.
Amazing stories on the cable news tonight from others who survived weeks on Mt Hood in the past. Both stories I have heard are from Christians talking about how their faith carried them through.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.