Climbers stranded on hood as we speak

[--M.]

This feels like agonizingly slow progress. It's hard not to be skeptical about their chances, but I still want to hope for them.

I'd guess there'll be more news soon.


http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/17/missing.climbers/index.html
Rescuers find snow cave, equipment on Mount Hood
POSTED: 4:44 p.m. EST, December 17, 2006

HOOD RIVER, Oregon (CNN) -- Rescuers searching for three missing climbers told CNN Sunday afternoon that they have identified a "snow cave" where the three men may be located.

At around 4:30 p.m. ET a crew of at least 15 rescuers on foot reached the summit of Mount Hood's west side.

From that time, rescuers had three to four hours of daylight left but officials say they will continue their quest after dark.

According to Mount Hood River Sheriff's Department spokesman Gerry Tiffany, a Chinook helicopter and ground searchers are focusing on a target area where climber Kelly James is possibly sheltered.

James, Brian Hall, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke have been missing for 10 days.

"It looks good," Tiffany told CNN. "Until it's a done deal, you can't know for sure but everybody's hoping."

 

[sli74]

CNN is having a live press conference about this right now.

sli74

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Live Cam of Hood

If you've ever climbed Mt Hood from the ski area, this live cam shot will look familiar. Keep in mind this is supposed to be live, so depending upon your time zone -


And this, just posted from Portland station KGW:

List: Items found by rescuers Sunday

02:44 PM PST on Sunday, December 17, 2006

By TERESA BELL, kgw.com Staff

Authorities have confirmed finding the following items on Mount Hood, about 300 feet below the summit on the North side of the mountain:

At 2:15 p.m., authorities confirmed they found the following items inside an empty snow cave that they believe was likely used by the missing climbers:

- Two ice axes

- A sleeping bag or pad (Authorities said they could not tell how long it's been since someone was inside the cave or the sleeping bag.)

- Some rope

These items were spotted from a helicopter hovering above and confirmed by authorities during a 12:30 p.m. press conference:

- An Ice spike

- A coil of rope

- A Y carved in the snow (which climbing experts say is a common type of signal basically meant to send the message, “Yes, we’re here")

- Footprints leading to the summit that fade out in deep, blowing snow

- A snow cave

 

[una_dogger]

Wow, Kevin, that report is bonechilling. I wonder when they left the cave?

Sending vibes thier way and to thier families.

 

[Abster]

Anxious

I am finding myself so anxious about this situation.

I have recently finished 'Into Thin Air' (again), and it feels familiar....lost climbers, weather not permitting a rescue, cold, wind, experienced hikers, etc. I am only relating the two in terms of my anxiety. I am hoping for good news every time I view/listen in.......

My heart goes out to the families who have to struggle through not knowing.

 

[jjmcgo]

Cascade Climbers site not working

Cascadeclimbers.com has been the best source of information, along with KATU-TV's website and Oregonlive.com (second page has brief bulletins).
But the cascadeclimbers.com site hasn't worked for about an hour now.

 

[jjmcgo]

One dead

While I was typing the last post, officials announced they found one climber's body in a second snow cave.

 

[Bobby]

While I was typing the last post, officials announced they found one climber's body in a second snow cave.

Associated Press just posted the same news.

 

[sli74]

Heartbreaking

sli74

 

[una_dogger]

Heartbreaking

sli74

Indeed...sigh..sometimes there are no words. Must have hit the rescuers hard to find him.

 

[prino]

Sad News indeed... http://www.oregonlive.com/newslogs/oregonian/
Let's hope they locate the other two before it's too late.

 

[DougPaul]

- A Y carved in the snow (which climbing experts say is a common type of signal basically meant to send the message, “Yes, we’re here")

The consensus on Cascadeclimbers is that this "Y" is actually an anchor.
http://209.221.152.246/images/news/IMG_9564.JPG

I (for what little it is worth) concur. The top of the Y goes around the rock on the right (you can see a bit of the rope) and the bottom goes off to something unseen on the left.

Doug

 

[Kevin Rooney]

The consensus on Cascadeclimbers is that this "Y" is actually an anchor.
http://209.221.152.246/images/news/IMG_9564.JPG

I (for what little it is worth) concur. The top of the Y goes around the rock on the right (you can see a bit of the rope) and the bottom goes off to something unseen on the left.

Doug

That seems to be a reasonable conclusion. The rope appears to be under tension -

 

[Nadine]

Still no word on the other two. I hope they're ok.

 

[DougPaul]

The body is that of Kelly James (the one that made the phone call). The search continues for the other two--the weather is expected to be good for a bit.

http://www.oregonlive.com/newslogs/oregonian/

Doug

 

[Snohm Eizer]

I've never heard the "Y is a signal for yes". That sure looks like an acnchor, especially because of the way it is routed up to the rock formation, and the knot........

 

[Nadine]

It's not looking good...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061218/ap_on_re_us/missing_climbers

 

[bubba]

Wow. This is brutal. I really liked this from the above reference article:

Jim Whittaker (who in 1963 became the first American to climb to the top of Everest)... "They were climbers that knew what they were doing. They were just pushing themselves to their farthest frontiers. That's when people are at their best"

 

[AOC-1]

The brotherhood of the rope

I'm sure readers of this board have been following the latest news, and have heard the search and rescue teams working assumptions about what happened to Jerry Cooke and Brian Hall. I've been paying especially close attention because I spoke to Jerry Cooke a few times last winter to make climbing plans. Those plans fell through at the last minute, and I never got a chance to meet Jerry or climb with him. I'm still holding out hope I might have the opportunity to do so some day.

A recent edition of Alpinist magazine includes an editorial contrasting the heroic actions of the 1953 American K-2 expedition with the deplorable conduct of "climbers" on commercial expeditions on Mt. Everest in 2006. Art Gilkey lay dying in a tent at 7600 meters in a storm on K-2. Risking near-certain death, his teammates, Pete Schoening, Charlie Houston, Robert Bates, George Bell, Dee Molenaar and others, packaged Gilkey in a makeshift sled and attempted the impossible: to lower him down the precipitous slopes of the mountain. At one point, Schoening held the full weight of the tumbling rope team against the slim wooden shaft of his ice axe ("the belay") and saved them all from falling thousands of meters to their deaths. In the end, they were unsuccessful, as Gilkey was swept away by an avalanche. But they showed the world the meaning of "the brotherhood of the rope." The climbers were connected to each other, not just by physical strands, but by deep bonds of friendship and respect. They risked their own lives because that is the vow made every time one ties into the rope with a partner.

Now, in 2006, some 30-odd Everest "climbers" consumed by summit fever step over a dying man without lifting a finger to help him, rationalizing that ethics and common human decency don't apply in the "death zone."

Whatever the outcome in Oregon this week, some things are clear. Swallowing their fear, Jerry Cooke and Brian Hall crawled out of a sheltering snow cave onto the steep, storm-swept northern face of Mt. Hood. They did so in whiteout conditions and probably hurricane force winds because their stricken partner, Kelly James, needed help. There is purity to their actions that should restore and inspire us all.

 

[HAMTERO]

Excellent post, AOC-1.