MT. HOOD -- A 45-year-old woman was in a lot of pain, but expected to fully recover after she was hurt by falling ice and rescued on Mt. Hood Wednesday night.

KGW graphic

Tom Merriam, the husband of the injured climber, told KGW's Joe Donlon that his wife, Robin, was hit by a large chunk of ice while they were climbing in the area of the Hogsback on Mt. Hood. Merriam said they were just 300 feet from the summit when the accident happened. He saw the ice break free and shouted "duck" but his wife was not able to avoid the icefall.

Uncut: KGW interview with climber

"She's in a lot of pain, she's tough but she'll do fine," Merriam said Thursday at the hospital. He added she was in good spirits.

The accident took place around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. In a 911 call obtained by KGW, Merriam reported that Robin, 45, was hit in the lower back and was in extreme pain, and that he and their other climbing companion were having a hard time getting her down the mountain.

Audio: Climber's 9-1-1call

"I looked up and there was this huge chunk of ice coming down the mountain. It was quite quick (and) cartwheeling as it went," he said.

Merriman said it was his wife's first attempt to climb Mt. Hood but that their climbing partner was very experienced.

View climbing route

KGW's Sky 8 helicopter located the climbing party flashing a signal at about the 10,000 foot level of the mountain at the base of the Hogsback ridge.

Raw video: Sky 8 aerial view over climbers

Eleven rescuers from Portland Mountain Rescue responded to the initial 9-1-1 call. Shortly after 5 p.m., Sky 8 filmed a snowcat traveling up the mountain along the Palmer snowcat track. Rescuers reached the injured climber at about 8 p.m.

The Oregon Army National Guard launched a Blackhawk helicopter equipped with nightvision technology, and shortly before 10 p.m. rescuers airlifted Robin off the 10,640-foot level of the mountain. She was flown to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland for treatment of internal and back injuries, authorities said.

Tom Merriam and Mark Flaming, a friend and business associate the couple had been climbing with, safely made their way down the mountain on foot with rescuers Wednesday night. All three are from Hood River.

Robin was listed in fair condition Thursday morning. Tom said he was extremely relieved his wife was safe. The couple's three teenaged children were happy to have both parents off the mountain.

Video: From hospital, husband describes climber's recovery

"I am very grateful my wife is safely off the Mountain, and we are very appreciative to all the rescue personnel who came to our aid. I am very impressed with all the emergency personnel involved representing Portland Mountain Rescue; American Medical Response (RAT); the Oregon National Guard Helicopter crew and the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office – I am enormously grateful. They were wonderful," Tom said late Wednesday night.

"It was easy to detect exhaustion in the voice of Tom Merriam as I spoke with him and he voiced genuine concern for his wife with her anticipated road to recovery; although, he was very relieved to be safely home with their three teenage children in Hood River," added detective Jim Strovink with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, who worked with the media as a spokesperson for the rescue effort.