Search crews looking for the bodies of two Mount Hood climbers missing for seven months found a stash of equipment on Saturday believed to belong to the original climbing party.

The find, according to searchers, confirms the climbers' plans to make a rapid ascent to the summit.

In December, searchers said they believed the climbers had "gone light," leaving behind equipment so they could climb faster and returning to it on the way back.

Background: Three climbers perish on Mt. Hood

Saturday morning, searchers found a pack, maps, a sleeping bag and other gear in an A-frame shelter at about 5,500 feet.

KGW photo

Cook (top) Hall (bottom)

The equipment was "hidden back in a cubbyhole underneath some plywood sheets," said search spokesman Devon Wells, a fire officer and member of the Crag Rats mountain rescue organization.

More than 100 Searchers returned to Mount Hood Saturday to try and find the bodies of the two climbers who disappeared in stormy weather last winter. The foggy and windy conditions were not ideal but the plan was to search until around 5:00 p.m.

Brian Hall, 37, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, 36, are presumed dead. They were a part of a three man team that set out on December 8 for a two-day climb up one of the harshest parts of the mountain.

KGW photo

Gear found by searchers on Mt. Hood

Experts: How climbers got stranded

More: Timeline

On Dec. 10, climber Kelly James, a 48-year-old Dallas landscape architect, used called his family and said the party was in trouble and that his two companions had gone for help. He was found dead in a snow cave in January.

It’s theorized they may have fallen to their deaths, been buried by an avalanche, or died of hypothermia.

Hood River sheriffs said conditions were so bad during winter searches that it would have been easy to miss any clues. The area still has several feet of snow, but Chief Deputy Jerry Brown said the men were wearing bright clothing that may help searchers.

Deputies said the response by search agencies was overwhelming.

Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler said it would be an intense effort for a somewhat short window of time.

Slideshow: Equipment and snow cave found

Video: Search ends for climbers | Sky 8 video of Mt. Hood

Searchers would also go back Sunday in hopes any clues were found.

“It’s going to take up pretty much the whole weekend,” he said.

Aerial searches are also done when weather permits, and Wampler said a search K-9 would be brought up to the mountain.

"We'd really like to find them. There's a lot of snow but we're going to try and get in," Wampler added. "If the dog can pinpoint a location ... we'll dig."

About 80 percent of the search would focus on the area above 7,000 feet leading up to Eliot Glacier. Another crew would search lower areas in case they came off the mountain and fell into a drain or remote area they couldn’t get out from.

Part of the team would also be dedicated to searching for the climbers’ gear.

Rescuers said it was one of the largest recent searches on Oregon's tallest mountain. During the height of the effort, scores of volunteers, deputies and National Guardsmen on foot and in helicopters and a plane had searched the mountain.