05/30/2002

By TERESA BELL and ABE ESTIMADA, kgw.com Staff

Nine climbers fell into a crevasse near the summit of Mount Hood on Thursday, in an accident that killed three and injured at least half a dozen others. It was the second deadliest mishap to ever occur on Oregon's highest peak.

Rescue efforts took a dramatic turn during the afternoon when a helicopter trying to reach the survivors crashed nearby.

After all the injured climbers were rescued, crews raced against vanishing daylight to recover bodies of three dead climbers still high atop Mt. Hood in a crevasse. The recovery capped a rescue effort that exceeded 10 hours Thursday.

In all, authorities said 13 climbers were involved in the incident, with nine actually falling into the crevasse when a couple of climbers slippped, apparently pulling the others in with them.

Of the nine who fell, three people died and six others were injured to varying degrees. The survivors included an off-duty Tualatin Valley assistant fire marshal, his 15-year-old son and four other paramedic/firefighters.

"It was weird. I mean, it was a beautiful day on the mountain," said Assistant Fire Marshal Cleve Joiner, one of the climb participants. "It was just a really great day, a beautiful day. And when it happened, it was just, Wow."

A total of nine helicopter crews with Lifeflight, the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve helped from the air. They took turns airlifting the most critical patients off the mountainside and shuttling them to area hospitals.

Helicopter crews transported patients to Legacy Emanuel Hospital and Oregon Health & Science University.

Here's the latest on the climbers' conditions:

-- Thomas Hillman, 45, from California: upgraded to serious condition at Legacy with a head injury, multiple cuts and hypothermia.

-- Jeremiah Moffit, firefighter/paramedic with Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue: taken to Legacy with broken arm and lacerations.

-- Jeff Pierce, firefighter/paramedic with Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue: no serious injuries.

-- Cole Joiner, 15, son of Tualatin Valley assistant fire marshall: no serious injuries.

-- Cleve Joiner, Assistant Fire Marshal with Tualatin Valley: no serious injuries. Did not fall into crevasse.

-- Chad Hasburger, fitness specialist with Tualatin Valley: survived, no serious injuries.

-- Dennis Butler, firefighter/paramedic with Tualatin Valley: no serious injuries.

-- Harry Slutter, 43, from Long Island, NY: upgraded to fair condition at OHSU with broken jaw and cut on his eye.

-- Christopher Kern, 40, from Long Island, NY: serious condition at Legacy with a broken pelvis, leg, wrist and shoulder and hypothermia.

-- Sylvia Muestas, of Metro West Ambulance Service: no serious injuries. Did not fall into crevasse.

The view from Sky8 showed helicopter crews carefully airlifting each patient, strapped into a stretcher, from the crevasse.

Meanwhile, a team of specially trained rescue climbers set up a triage unit on the steep mountainside. They reached the crevasse with help from two CAT snow tractors early this afternoon. A separate group of ski patrollers arrived at the accident scene with radios to help in communication efforts.

The Ski Patrollers also transported two climbers with the least-serious injuries down the mountain on specialized emergency sleds.

Rollins said conditions on the mountain were getting more risky by the minute. Temperatures were fluctuating, as was the wind.

Climbing Accident Happened Around 9 a.m.

Cleve Joiner, of Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, managed to call for help on a cell phone at about 9 a.m. Thursday morning after his fellow climbers fell into the crevasse.

The top team "was having a little bit of difficulty," said Joiner, who managed to stop sliding at the lip of the crevasse. "One of those climbers slipped, yanking the other climbers down the steep slope and into the crevasse."

Deep Crack in the Glacier

The crevasse is 20-30 feet deep and located about 800 feet below the top of Mt. Hood above Hot Rocks and Crater Rock near the last pitch to the summit. (See map below.) It is a well-known hazard on the mountain and usually grows in size as the glacier recedes in warmer temperatures.

"It opens up in the base of final summit to the top of the mountain," said Dave Mull with the American Medical Response rescue team. He said the deep bergchrund-classified crevasse is well-known to climbers who frequent Mt. Hood.

Accident Happened Thursday Morning

The climbers were slowly making their way along the mountainside when the accident happened just after 9 a.m. Thursday morning.

The Clackamas County Search and Rescue Unit set up a command post at Timberline Lodge where they were planning and leading the rescue effort.

Conditions on the mountain were sunny and clear, according to KGW Meteorologist Dave Salesky. "At the 7,000 foot elevation, the temperature is 42 degrees. The wind is blowing out of the northwest at 15 miles per hour."

But Blanchard said it took a while to get to the climbers because of their precarious, high-elevation location.

Mt. Hood is located about 50 miles east of Portland. It's one of the most climbed glaciated peaks in North America. Most climbers use the south side route which begins at the 5,800' Timberline Lodge parking area. At less than three miles, this is the shortest route to the summit.

Above the the Palmer ski lift there are three variations of the main climbing route. The Hogsback/Pearly Gates route is used when an area known as the Pearly Gates is congested or if climbers looking for more of a challenge, according to climbers who frequent Mt. Hood.

Past Accidents

Thursday's accident brought to mind the worst accident ever on Mt Hood.

Back in 1986, a group of nine teenagers and two teachers from the Oregon Episcopal School were involved in an accident while trying to climb Mt. Hood. Nine of them froze to death. This was the greatest tragedy in known Oregon climbing history.

The icy volcanic cone draws millions of hikers, skiers and tourists annually and has claimed 130 lives in 100 years.

More than 40,000 people fill out self-issued permits to climb Mount Hood each year.

About 1.3 million people visit Hood's Timberline Lodge every year.