| Revision as of 08:56, 18 December 2006 edit198.145.84.139 (talk) →Developing incident← Previous edit | Revision as of 12:50, 18 December 2006 edit undoTariqabjotu (talk | contribs)Administrators36,354 edits →Incident history: converted proseline to listNext edit → | ||
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| === Incident history === | === Incident history === | ||
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| According to ''Mount Hood: A Complete History'' by Jack Grauer,<ref> {{cite book | According to ''Mount Hood: A Complete History'' by Jack Grauer,<ref> {{cite book | ||
| | title = Mount Hood: A Complete History | | title = Mount Hood: A Complete History | ||
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| the first recorded climbing fatality on Hood's slopes occurred on ]], 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. | the first recorded climbing fatality on Hood's slopes occurred on ]], 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 ]], Victor VonNorman successfully climbed the peak via the southern route, along with a group of fellow ] students. He then ventured too close to a ] between Crater Rock and the "Hogsback" that connects Crater Rock with the summit ridge, was overcome by oxygen-barren gasses emanating from the fumarole, and fell about 50 feet to his death. A number of men who tried to retrieve the body were also nearly overcome by the fumes before finally succeeding in their efforts. | *In an unusual accident reported in Grauer's book, on ], ], Victor VonNorman successfully climbed the peak via the southern route, along with a group of fellow ] students. He then ventured too close to a ] between Crater Rock and the "Hogsback" that connects Crater Rock with the summit ridge, was overcome by oxygen-barren gasses emanating from the fumarole, and fell about 50 feet to his death. A number of men who tried to retrieve the body were also nearly overcome by the fumes before finally succeeding in their efforts. | ||
| One of the worst U.S. climbing accidents occurred in May 1986 when seven students and two faculty of the ] froze to death during an annual school climb.<ref name="cbs"/> Of the four survivors, three had life-threatening hypothermia; one had legs amputated.<ref> {{cite news | *One of the worst U.S. climbing accidents occurred in May 1986 when seven students and two faculty of the ] froze to death during an annual school climb.<ref name="cbs"/> Of the four survivors, three had life-threatening hypothermia; one had legs amputated.<ref> {{cite news | ||
| | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7DF1539F93AA25756C0A960948260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topi%20cs%2fSubjects%2fM%2fMountain%20Climbing | | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7DF1539F93AA25756C0A960948260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topi%20cs%2fSubjects%2fM%2fMountain%20Climbing | ||
| | title = Doctors Remove Legs Of Mt. Hood Climber | | title = Doctors Remove Legs Of Mt. Hood Climber | ||
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| }} </ref> | }} </ref> | ||
| On ]], 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 disappearing, the weather turned cold and snowy.<ref> {{cite web | *On ]], 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 disappearing, the weather turned cold and snowy.<ref> {{cite web | ||
| | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hood090801.html | | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hood090801.html | ||
| | title = Missing Hungarian Not Found On Mount Hood | | title = Missing Hungarian Not Found On Mount Hood | ||
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| }} </ref> | }} </ref> | ||
| On ]], a 30 year old Argentine national attempted to snowboard off Mount Hood's summit along ] ridge. He lost control after a few turns and tumbled over 2,000 feet to his death.<ref> {{cite web | *On ]], a 30 year old Argentine national attempted to snowboard off Mount Hood's summit along ] ridge. He lost control after a few turns and tumbled over 2,000 feet to his death.<ref> {{cite web | ||
| | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hoodfatality052402.html | | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hoodfatality052402.html | ||
| | title = Snowboarder Dies on Mount Hood's North Face | | title = Snowboarder Dies on Mount Hood's North Face | ||
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| }} </ref> | }} </ref> | ||
| On ]], three climbers were killed and four others injured when they fell into a ] ('']'') in the "hogsback". Most unusual | *On ]], three climbers were killed and four others injured when they fell into a ] ('']'') in the "hogsback". Most unusual was the televised whose rotors clipped the sloping ice bridge.<ref> {{cite web | ||
| was the televised whose rotors clipped the sloping ice bridge.<ref> {{cite web | |||
| | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hoodbergschrund053002.html | | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hoodbergschrund053002.html | ||
| | title = Three Dead, Many Injured on Mount Hood After Nine Climbers Fall and an Air Force Helicopter Crashes - PMR Coordinates Massive Rescue Effort | | title = Three Dead, Many Injured on Mount Hood After Nine Climbers Fall and an Air Force Helicopter Crashes - PMR Coordinates Massive Rescue Effort | ||
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| }} </ref> | }} </ref> | ||
| On ]], the search for a man snowshoeing from Timberline Lodge was abandoned after more than four days in heavy winter weather. More than six feet of snow fell during the search.<ref> {{cite web | *On ]], the search for a man snowshoeing from Timberline Lodge was abandoned after more than four days in heavy winter weather. More than six feet of snow fell during the search.<ref> {{cite web | ||
| | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hoodsnowshoe030303.html | | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hoodsnowshoe030303.html | ||
| | title = Search for Missing Mt Hood Snowshoer Ends | | title = Search for Missing Mt Hood Snowshoer Ends | ||
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| | date = ]] | | date = ]] | ||
| | accessdate = 2006-12-14 | | accessdate = 2006-12-14 | ||
| ⚫ | }} </ref> An extensive search five months later for the man's body failed, but unexpectedly discovered the body of another man who was not identified.<ref> {{cite web | ||
| }} </ref> | |||
| ⚫ | An extensive search five months later for the man's body failed, but unexpectedly discovered the body of another man who was not identified.<ref> {{cite web | ||
| | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hoodsearch080203.html | | url = http://www.pmru.org/pressroom/headlines/hoodsearch080203.html | ||
| | title = PMR Joins Multi-Agency Search for Snowshoer's Remains - Body of Unidentified Person Found | | title = PMR Joins Multi-Agency Search for Snowshoer's Remains - Body of Unidentified Person Found | ||
Revision as of 12:50, 18 December 2006
This article is about a mountain in Oregon. For the California Mountain, see Hood Mountain.| Mount Hood | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,425 m (11,237 ft)  |
Mount Hood is a stratovolcano in northern Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about 50 miles (80 km) east-southeast of the city of Portland. Its snow-covered peak rises 3,429 meters (11,249 ft) on the border between Clackamas and Hood River counties. It is the highest mountain in Oregon and the fourth-highest in the Cascade Range. Mount Hood is considered the Oregon volcano most likely to erupt.
Mount Hood is part of the Mount Hood National Forest, which has 1.2 million acres (4,900 km²), four designated wilderness areas and more than 1,900 km (1,200 mi) of hiking trails.
The mountain has six ski areas including Timberline, the only ski area in North America that operates 12 months of the year. Timberline Lodge is a National Historic Landmark located on the southern flank of Mt. Hood. The Palmer Glacier, uphill from the lodge at about the 8,000 foot level, has been used for summer practice by the Olympic skiing team from time to time. The other areas are Mt. Hood Meadows, Ski Bowl, Cooper Spur, Snow Bunny and Summit.
Geology
The glacially eroded summit area consists of several andesitic or dacitic lava domes; Pleistocene collapses produced avalanches and lahars (rapidly moving mudflows) that traveled across the Columbia River to the north. The eroded volcano has had at least four major eruptive periods during the past 15,000 years. The last three occurred within the past 1,800 years from vents high on the southwest flank and produced deposits that were distributed primarily to the south and west along the Sandy and Zigzag Rivers. The last eruptive period took place around 170 to 220 years ago, when dacitic lava domes, pyroclastic flows and mudflows were produced without major explosive eruptions. The prominent Crater Rock just below the summit is believed to be the remnants of a dacite dome from the last eruptive period.
The last major eruption occurred in 1781-1782, with the most recent episode ending shortly before the arrival of Lewis and Clark in 1805. The most recent minor eruptive event occurred in August of 1907. There are twelve glaciers on the mountain's upper slopes; these may be a source of potentially dangerous lahars when the mountain next erupts. There are vents near the summit that are known for emitting noxious gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Prior to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, the only known fatality related to volcanic activity in the Cascades occurred in 1934 when a climber suffocated in oxygen-poor air while exploring ice caves melted by fumaroles in the Coalman Glacier.
Since 1950, there have been several earthquake swarms each year at Mt. Hood, most notably in July 1980, and June 2002.
Origin of its name
The Native American name for Mount Hood is Wy'east. Legend has it that the name Wy'east comes from a chief of the Multnomah tribe, the tribe after which Multnomah County was named. The chief competed for the attention of a woman who was also loved by the chief of the Klickitat tribe. The anger that the competition generated led to all three of them being turned into volcanoes, with the Klickitat chief becoming nearby Mount Adams and the target of their affection becoming Mount St. Helens. Their battle was said to have destroyed the Bridge of the Gods and thus created the Great Cascades of the Columbia River.
The mountain was given its present name on October 29, 1792 by Lt. William Broughton, a member of Captain George Vancouver's discovery expedition. It was named after a British admiral, Samuel Hood.
Climbing accidents
More than 130 people have died in climbing-related accidents since records have been kept on Mount Hood. Of those, about 100 have occurred since the mid-1970s.
Oregon's highest point, easy access and lack of technical climbing challenges lure many to climb Mount Hood. However, Cascade Range weather patterns are unfamiliar to many, even nearby residents. Seduced by gentle wind and warm air at access points, many are surprised to encounter 60 °F temperature drops in less than an hour, sudden sustained winds of 60 mph and more, and visibility quickly dropping from hundreds of miles to an arm's length. This pattern is responsible for the most well known incidents of May 1986 and December 2006.
Hazards
Avalanches are popularly regarded to be a major climbing hazard, but relatively few Mount Hood deaths are attributed to them. For the eleven year period ending April 2006, there was one death on Mount Hood caused by an avalanche, while 445 deaths occurred throughout North America. Compared to other western states, Oregon has the fewest avalanche fatalities, possibly due to relatively little snowmobile activity. Worldwide, between 100 and 200 people die each year from avalanches.
The two major causes of climbing deaths on Mount Hood are falls and hypothermia.
Incident history
According to Mount Hood: A Complete History by Jack Grauer, the first recorded climbing fatality on Hood's slopes occurred on July 121896, 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 VonNorman successfully climbed the peak 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 gasses emanating from the fumarole, and fell about 50 feet to his death. A number of men who tried to retrieve the body were also nearly overcome by the fumes before finally succeeding in their efforts.
- One of the worst U.S. climbing accidents occurred in May 1986 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.
- On September 82001, 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 disappearing, the weather turned cold and snowy.
- On May 242002, 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 2,000 feet to his death.
- On May 302002, 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 rescue helicopter whose rotors clipped the sloping ice bridge.
- On March 72003, the search for a man snowshoeing from Timberline Lodge was abandoned after more than four days in heavy winter weather. More than six feet of snow fell during the search. An extensive search five months later for the man's body failed, but unexpectedly discovered the body of another man who was not identified.
Developing incident
 | This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this section may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this section or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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A trio of experienced climbers who began what they expected to be a two-day expedition on December 7 2006, became trapped on the more-treacherous north slope of the mountain as of the weekend of December 9, 2006. The three climbers are Kelly James, Brian Hall, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke.
James is believed to be injured and taking refuge in a snow cave near the summit. The others are thought to have begun hiking down for help, but got caught by heavy snowfall, freezing rain, sustained high winds, and low visibility for most of the week, which has also limited search efforts. The last sign of them alive was Kelly James' cell phone late Tuesday night (December 122006), indicating it was turned on.
Clear weather on the weekend of December 172006 allowed almost 100 search and rescue personnel to scour the mountain. On Sunday, December 172006, searchers found what appears to be a snow cave, as well as climbing equipment, approximately 300 feet from the summit. Inside the snow cave, the rescuers found a rope, an ice axe and a sleeping bag. At approximately 3:29 PM PST, the body of one of the climbers was found in a different snow cave; the identity is currently unknown, but the families of the climbers have been notified.
The mountain is temporarily closed to all climbing, except rescuers under the direction of the Hood River County sheriff.
See also
References
- Harris, Stephen L. (2005). Fire Mountains of the West (3rd edition ed.). Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87842-511-X.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help)
- "Recent Mount Hood Earthquakes". Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
- ^ "Last Body Recovered From Mt. Hood". CBS news. May 312002. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - The statistical period of the Westwide Avalanche Network is 31 December1994 to 30 April2006, almost eleven and a half years.
- "Avalanche Accidents, 1997-98 Detailed, May 31, 1998, Mount Hood, Oregon". Westwide Avalanche Network. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
- "Previous Season Avalanche Accidents". Westwide Avalanche Network. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
- "U.S. Avalanche Fatalities by State 1996-2002". Utah Avalanche Center. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
- "Avalanche Fatalities in IKAR Countries 1976-2001". Utah Avalanche Center. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
- Jack Grauer (July 1975). Mount Hood: A Complete History. self published. ISBN 0-930584-01-5.
- "Doctors Remove Legs Of Mt. Hood Climber". New York Times. May 191986.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Missing Hungarian Not Found On Mount Hood". Portland Mountain Rescue. September 82001. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Snowboarder Dies on Mount Hood's North Face". Portland Mountain Rescue. May 242002. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Three Dead, Many Injured on Mount Hood After Nine Climbers Fall and an Air Force Helicopter Crashes - PMR Coordinates Massive Rescue Effort". Portland Mountain Rescue. August 172002. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Search for Missing Mt Hood Snowshoer Ends". Portland Mountain Rescue. March 72003. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "PMR Joins Multi-Agency Search for Snowshoer's Remains - Body of Unidentified Person Found". Portland Mountain Rescue. August 32003. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "T-Mobile Identifies Cell Phone Signal". Depot Hill Media. 14 December2006.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Rescuers find snow cave, equipment on Mount Hood". CNN News. December 172006. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "One Climber Found Dead". CNN News. December 172006. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Mount Hood closed to all climbing". KATU news. December 152006. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Mount Hood History
- Mount Hood on TierraWiki.org
- Mount Hood — History and Hazards of Oregon's Most Recently Active Volcano, from a USGS website
- Mount Hood National Park Campaign, the website of a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving Mount Hood as a National Park
- Mount Hood, from the member-supported "Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia"
