OREGON— A half dozen climbers stranded on Oregon’s Mt. Hood since Tuesday afternoon have been rescued and brought to safety. A seventh, though, died at the hospital. Officials say he fell between 700 to 1,000 feet down the mountain.
By around 1:30 p.m., the climber who fell was hoisted off the mountain and taken to the hospital. Deputies later confirmed the climber was pronounced dead upon arrival at a Portland hospital.
The climber’s name and age were not immediately released.
There were two groups stuck at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet. Three climbers made it down earlier in the evening with minimal assistance. Two men from the second group were able to trek down with rescuers just as nightfall and bad weather were closing in.
“Both of them are upset. They appear to be physically and mentally exhausted which is a normal reaction to an event like today.”
A woman who couldn’t walk or move when they found her had to be lowered down with a rope and sled 600 feet at a time.
“The ice conditions up there were really challenging,” said Steve Rollins with the Portland Mountain Rescue. “There’s some rock fall and ice fall hazard and whatnot.”
Crews say warmer weather the past few days contributed to the snow and ice melt which led to falling debris and dangerous conditions.