Mount Hood climbing accidents are incidents related to mountain climbing or hiking on Oclimb the mountain each year. As of May 2002, more than 130 people are known to have died climbing Mount Hood since records have been kept. One of the worst climbing accidents occurred in 1986, when seven high school students and two teachers froze to death while attempting to retreat from a storm.
Despite a quadrupling of forest visitors since 1990, the number of people requiring rescue remains steady at around 25 to 50 per year, largely because of the increased use of cell phones and GPS devices. In 2006, 3.4 percent of search and rescue missions were for mountain climbers. In comparison, 20% were for vehicles (including ATVs and snowmobiles), 3% were for mushroom collectors, the remaining 73.6 percent were for skiers, boaters, and participants in other mountain activities.
Regardless of route, Mount Hood is a technical climb. It requires ropes, crampons, and ice axes. Approximately 95% of Mount Hood's climbs occur during the period of April through July.
Hazards Cascade Range weather patterns can be deceptive, with sudden sustained winds of , and visibility quickly dropping from hundreds of miles to an arm's length; climbers can experience temperature drops in less than an hour after leaving an access point. This pattern is responsible for the most well-known incidents of May 1986 and December 2006.See incident summary references.
Avalanches are popularly believed a major climbing hazard, but relatively few Mount Hood deaths are attributed to them. For the 11-year period ending April 2006,The statistical period of the Westwide Avalanche Network is 31 December 1994 to 30 April 2006, almost eleven and a half years. there was one death on Mount Hood caused by an avalanche, while 445 avalanche-related deaths occurred throughout North America. Compared to other western states, Oregon has relatively few avalanche fatalities (16 of the 1009 for the U.S. from 1951 to 2015). There are between 100 and 200 deaths each year worldwide from avalanches.
In the United States from 1947 to 2018, "2,799 people were reported to be involved in mountaineering accidents" and 2% of these total accidents occurred on Mount Hood.
The two most common causes of fatal climbing incidents on Mount Hood are falls and hypothermia.See incident history.
Incident history
From 1890 through 1990
According to Mount Hood: A Complete History by Jack Grauer, the first recorded climbing fatality on Hood's slopes occurred on July 12, 1896, when Frederic Kirn eschewed his guide and attempted the trip to the summit alone. Kirn's body was found on the Newton Clark Glacier on the east side of the mountain, after an apparent 40-story fall in connection with an avalanche.
In an unusual accident reported in Grauer's book, on August 27, 1934, Victor Von Norman successfully climbed the mountain via the southern route, along with a group of fellow University of Washington students. He then ventured too close to a fumarole between Crater Rock and the "Hogsback" that connects Crater Rock with the summit ridge, was overcome by oxygen-barren gases emanating from the fumarole, and fell about to his death. A number of men who tried to retrieve the body over several days were also nearly overcome by the fumes, even after obtaining an oxygen mask, before finally succeeding in their efforts.
In 1961, experienced climber, Colin Chisholm, and his teenage son, Doug, climbed the Eliot Glacier. During the descent of Cooper Spur, a crampon slipped on ice, causing a fall. The two fell on Eliot Glacier. Colin broke his ribs and Doug was unharmed. Their route became known as "The Chisholm Trail".
On March 1, 1969, James Eaton died when he fell headfirst into a concealed crevasse near the edge of the upper portion of the White River Canyon. Eaton was a ski instructor and a member of the Mount Hood Ski Patrol.
On August 8, 1971, Harry B. Carson, 42, and his wife, 34, Joanne and two sons, Harry Jr., 13, and Clifton, 12, fell on Eliot Glacier while climbing Mount Hood. Carson and his family fell about 1,000 feet while descending from the summit. Harry B. Carson and his son Clifton died from their injuries while Joanne and Harry Jr. were critically injured but survived.
On July 26, 1976, Cecil Rose, 62, a Sheffield, Alabama man fell to his death near the summit at about 7:30 am. Two climbers who witnessed his fall told Clackamas County Sheriffs’ officers they estimated he fell quite a long ways, but were unsure of the exact distance. Other witnesses recalled a 300' fall down icy hard snow, and reports claim Rose was not roped up. One climber stayed with Rose while the other went for help. Clackamas County authorities attempted a helicopter rescue, but it failed because of extreme air turbulence. By the time the ground crew reached him, Rose was dead, deputies said.
On May 19, 1980, Tom Hanstedt died while descending the mountain's southeast face, falling deep into a crevasse on the Newton-Clark Glacier. His body was never recovered.Accidents in North American Mountaineering, 1981
On June 6, 1981, David H. Turple and Bill Pilkenton died in a fall from Cooper Spur on the northeast side of the mountain.
On June 21, 1981, five members of the Mazamas climbing group died during a fall from Cooper Spur while descending.
On June 12, 1983, Dr. Dan Raven, 27, of Portland, was climbing on the Eliot Glacier with two companions when he fell about . The two other climbers were discovered stranded but still alive. However, Dan was found dead from his injuries, still roped into his climbing gear, hanging from an outcropping at Horseshoe Rock. Due to high winds and unstable snow conditions, the two survivors had to wait twenty-four hours for rescuers to reach them. They were brought down to the level, where they were airlifted.
1986 Mount Hood Disaster: beginning on May 12, 1986, one of the worst U.S. climbing accidents occurred over the course of three days when seven students and two faculty of the Oregon Episcopal School froze to death during an annual school climb. Of the four survivors, three had life-threatening hypothermia; one had legs amputated.
May 1986: Patricia Haythorn, 35, and David W. Schermer, 36, slipped off the edge of the mountain near Eliot Glacier. Haythorn did not survive the fall.
On July 11, 1987, Arthur Andersen Jr. was killed when he and two other men fell on the south side of the mountain and slid into a crevasse.
1990s In June 1990, William Ott, who had terminal cancer, died from hypothermia on the mountain.
On July 26, 1994, four climbers who were roped together fell some down the Cooper Spur route, stopping at the edge of a crevasse on Eliot Glacier. Ole Groupe, 16, of Pendleton and Jerry Milton, 51, of McMinnville died in the fall. The other climbers were rescued by helicopter.
On September 25, 1995, Kenneth Budlong, 45, of Portland attempted to climb the peak via the Cathedral Ridge route. Budlong was very experienced, having summited the peak 22 times before. However, the weather turned very quickly, and Budlong vanished. Despite an extensive search over the following days, his whereabouts were never determined, and his body was never found.
On May 19, 1997, Carlos Loria, a solo climber summited successfully with his dog, Buckwheat. While descending the Coe Glacier he slipped and fell , fracturing his neck. After being reported overdue by family, he was found by rescuers with facial lacerations, slight hypothermia, and cervical trauma. He was rescued and helicoptered to Portland, but Buckwheat was not at the scene. A month later, the dog appeared at Cooper Spur Inn, some across the rugged Mount Hood Wilderness, evidently having survived on snow melt and berries.
On September 6, 1997, an experienced telemark skier, Mark Fraas of Hood River, ascended wearing crampons and carrying skis to the level of Cooper Spur, not intending to summit. He slipped and fell more than down the Chisholm Trail and Eliot Glacier. Twenty-five rescuers responded to his partner's cell phone call and found him dead. Retrieval required technical mountaineering skills and equipment. Fraas was not known to have any climbing experience. This was at least the 13th fatality from Cooper Spur. All involve loss of footing, inability to self-arrest, and a long fall over rock cliffs above the Eliot Glacier.
On May 31, 1998, during a graduation climb for the Mazamas, several participants were caught in an avalanche. One climber, Tom McGlinn, 39-years old, died and one climber had serious injuries. The climbers were at the level on the West Crater Rim route; the forecast was for "significant avalanche danger" and was posted "high avalanche hazard" at the climbing registration of Timberline Lodge. A large slab avalanche fracture occurred at the level, vertical below the westernmost summit ridge. A roped team of three were swept down the steep slope through the Hot Rocks area. One was killed by injuries during the fall and found under four feet of snow about an hour later along with a snapped rope. The other two climbers had a fractured pelvis, and fractured ankle, respectively. The leader who was not roped to the other three, was only briefly caught by the avalanche and had injuries to an ankle and shoulder.
On May 23, 1999, Carey Cardon and Tena Cardon, an experienced pair of climbers summited successfully. Shortly after commencing their descent, one stumbled and both fell more than to their deaths.
On June 22, 1999, a 24-year-old medical student from Michigan, Steven Reed, apparently set out from a remote trailhead where his rental car was found. Temperatures dropped 15 degrees and more than an inch of rain fell beginning the next day. Ten days after his presumed disappearance, searching began with up to 70 rescuers combing the area. Additional searches included cadaver dogs and psychics. His body was never found.
2000s
On June 4, 2000, Diana Kornet, 29, slipped as she was looking over the northeast side of Mount Hood. She fell about to her death. She and six friends had reached the summit about 7 am. She had unroped, as many climbers do after reaching the summit, and left her ice axe when she went to take a look. It was windy in this exposed location. After one of her companions called 911, the sheriff's office sent a search plane and found Kornet's body at the level at the top of Eliot Glacier.
On August 15, 2001, 15-year-old Evan Clark was hiking with his father and brother, exploring along a streambed, when a refrigerator-sized chunk of ice fell on top of him. The incident occurred near the popular Cloud Cap hiking area on the northeast side of Mount Hood. The teen was airlifted to a Portland hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
On September 8, 2001, rescuers abandoned a search for a 24-year-old Hungarian exchange student who had been missing for six days. He had been hiking with friends when he left the group with light clothing and no provisions. Two days after his disappearance, the weather turned cold and snowy.
On May 24, 2002, a 30-year-old Argentine national attempted to snowboard off Mount Hood's summit along Cooper Spur ridge. He lost control after a few turns and tumbled over to his death.
On May 30, 2002, three climbers were killed and four others injured when they fell into a crevasse (The Bergschrund) in the Hogsback. Most unusual was the televised crash-and-roll of a USAF Pavehawk rescue helicopter from the 304th RQS, which suddenly lost lift. Though the helicopter's five crew members were injured, luckily no one was killed by the crash. The accident is dramatised in the episode "Nightmare on Mt. Hood" of Critical Situation. The accident is also dramatized in the episode "Chopper Down" of Why Planes Crash.