Mt. Hood In December
What could possibly go wrong?
(CNN) — Rescuers are looking for two missing hikers after finding a third dead on the slopes of Oregon’s Mount Hood, but the search has been hindered by the threat of avalanches, a sheriff’s deputy said Sunday.
I mean, I do feel sorry for these folks but
What
The
Hell
were they thinking?
Life, People | Mr. Bingley | 
December 14, 2009 6:53 am
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Right after graduating from TBS I went to visit my brother in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. He was going through his novitiate year to become a priest at this old mansion his order owns on a beautiful ranch out there.
Brother decided that we should go hiking in the mountains in early December. I wanted to bring food, warm clothing and other safety gear and he said, nah, we won’t be long and we won’t go far. He knew the area like the back of his hand and was taught by the best, one of the priests in charge of the novitiates.
The little hike around the corner got longer and longer. I kept asking, when does the sun set? He laughed and said, oh the mountains are so high, it’s already “set” by noon because it’s behind the mountain.
He always wanted to to just a little bit higher. We were getting really high up, it was getting late in the day and it was starting to get very cold.
Finally, I told him in no uncertain terms that I would not go one single foot further and he needed to bring me back down the mountain or I would leave him up there.
We followed a creek down, over snow covered boulders, and it got dark really fast. We had no flashlights. We made it back, but I’m still pissed about it.
Later that year, his friend that taught him all about hiking, the expert he relied on so much, died in the mountains after going out hiking by himself. I think they found him in the spring time.
Some people have too much contempt for the dangers of mountains. Trust me, I won’t ever follow my brother on a short hike again.
These people probably thought, oh we can make it quick if we don’t carry a lot of gear and we make good time. But the mountains have a tendency to disrupt plans. Once something happens, you have to have equipment with you or you die. I have little sympathy for them.
This happens all too frequently on Mount Hood. I think they call it a “power climb”.
Skyler’s experience is part of the problem, but even experienced climbers will pull this stunt up there, and on similar mountains. People do not realize just hard and uncaring the elements are. And in the wilderness, you have zero margin.
IIRC, most of another group died on Mount Hood a couple years, but they got stuck up there in a winter storm. This time, it was an avalanche. The results are the same.
Call it arrogance.
This is just crazy. Every winter it’s the same story. I feel so sorry for the family of the climbers. I’m sure that prior to this incident the young climbers thought that they were invincible and probably cared less about the weather forecast. The part of the story that really fries me is the fact that the rescuers have to put their butts on the line to do what very well may be a body recovery. My husband has been in mountain rescue for many years and it’s always my fear that he will suffer for some young person’s folly. I pray that the two missing are found and that the rescuers return safe and well.
i was thinking the exact same. although i am sure every one does some things which makes other question our sanity, this is absolutely ridiculous. it’s like they had challenged mother nature.
and we all know how that contest ends.
Evolution in action.
You don’t need a mountain in winter to illustrate tragedies like this. Every so often Ma Nature sends huge storms up the Atlantic and we get tidal surges at the beach. The waves are too tempting to the vain glorious.
Sure enough, somebody dies, be they tourists with no clue about water’s strength or allegedly experienced surfers who think they can read sets.
I saw six lifeguards rescue one of their own who thought going out alone in 10-foot seas was no big deal. All seven are lucky they lived.
Same kind of thinking on that mountain.
In this case it seems like the still-missing pair were somewhat prepared; the lady has some warm-weather gear and the other guy has a tent of sorts. Hopefully it’s enough. But man, it does illustrate what can happen even to the experienced and prepared. To skimp on your gear is a very bad idea.
I’m starting to see an odd correlation with death and the word Hood. Mount Hood…Fort Hood….hoodie huligans….
It’s too easy to get hurt not to take simple precautions.
The wife and I were beachcombing on the northern tip of Okinawa one summer. I climbed up a chunck of coral rock to get a shot of waves crashing into a cove. I slipped and banged my knee. I didn’t think anything of it until I climbed down, looked, and saw this huge gash across my kneecap. That could have easily been worse. In fact, it would probably have been more likely to have twisted my ankle or something. Just too easy to get hurt doing something seemingly easy.
And to Gary from Jersey’s comment, we lost a young soldier on Okinawa in exactly the way he describes. Just a kid walking out to get a look at the big waves (a typhoon was coming in at the time), got too close and drowned.