Snowcave Found! Oregon...
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UnderSeaBumbleBee
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How long do they think before the are able to get the rescuers there and are able to enter the cave?
Likely snow cave, footprints found on Mount Hood
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER
Associated Press Writer
HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) -- Helicopters looking for three missing climbers found a snow cave near the summit of Mount Hood on Sunday, officials said. Footprints and climbing gear were also spotted.
Search teams will decide at the site whether rescuers will be lowered to the mountain or climbers at the summit will descend, said Sgt. Gerry Tiffany, of the Hood River County sheriff's office.
Officials said they were certain they had found a snow cave about 300 feet from the summit of the mountain.
It is near the spot where one of the missing climbers placed a distress call from his cell phone a week ago, Tiffany said.
Helicopters spotted rope that had been intentionally laid out in a Y-shape, which some rescuers said is commonly used by climbers. There was also an ice spike and footprints, Tiffany said.
Helicopters saw the site Saturday but weather conditions were too difficult to investigate further. They returned on Sunday.
"They are going to be up there as long as it take, unless the weather turns bad," said Capt Mike Braibish, spokesman for the Oregon National Guard. "The big thing now is the wind, if the wind comes up, they'll be pulled off."
Tiffany said crews are prepared to stay the evening on the mountain.
Searchers got close to the 11,239-foot summit Saturday, reaching 10,600 feet before nightfall and worsening conditions forced them off the mountain. With the weather colder but clearer Sunday, they set out again from 6,000 feet and planned to make it to the top, officials said.
The teams on the mountain were joined for a third day by a Nevada Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane equipped with infrared heat sensors that could detect a person against the cold backdrop of snow and were working around the clock.
There has been no communication from Kelly James, 48, of Dallas, 37-year-old Brian Hall of Dallas, or 36-year-old Jerry "Nikko" Cooke of New York City since Dec. 10, when James used his cell phone to call his family. He told them he was sheltering in a snow cave while his companions started back down the mountain, apparently to get help for him.
The last clue to their whereabouts was a brief signal returned from James' cell phone Tuesday.
Dwight Hall, father of Brian Hall, told reporters on Sunday that relatives of the missing mountaineers are going through a "roller coaster of emotions."
He gulped back tears as he thanked rescuers for their efforts, and added "there's no reason to have anything less than high optimism for a successful outcome."
At the airport, friends and family members of the missing climbers put their hands on one of two Blackhawk helicopters preparing to join the search and prayed.
Frank James, brother of Kelly James, said of the helicopter pilots: "We're the cheerleaders for these guys."
By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER
Associated Press Writer
HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) -- Helicopters looking for three missing climbers found a snow cave near the summit of Mount Hood on Sunday, officials said. Footprints and climbing gear were also spotted.
Search teams will decide at the site whether rescuers will be lowered to the mountain or climbers at the summit will descend, said Sgt. Gerry Tiffany, of the Hood River County sheriff's office.
Officials said they were certain they had found a snow cave about 300 feet from the summit of the mountain.
It is near the spot where one of the missing climbers placed a distress call from his cell phone a week ago, Tiffany said.
Helicopters spotted rope that had been intentionally laid out in a Y-shape, which some rescuers said is commonly used by climbers. There was also an ice spike and footprints, Tiffany said.
Helicopters saw the site Saturday but weather conditions were too difficult to investigate further. They returned on Sunday.
"They are going to be up there as long as it take, unless the weather turns bad," said Capt Mike Braibish, spokesman for the Oregon National Guard. "The big thing now is the wind, if the wind comes up, they'll be pulled off."
Tiffany said crews are prepared to stay the evening on the mountain.
Searchers got close to the 11,239-foot summit Saturday, reaching 10,600 feet before nightfall and worsening conditions forced them off the mountain. With the weather colder but clearer Sunday, they set out again from 6,000 feet and planned to make it to the top, officials said.
The teams on the mountain were joined for a third day by a Nevada Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane equipped with infrared heat sensors that could detect a person against the cold backdrop of snow and were working around the clock.
There has been no communication from Kelly James, 48, of Dallas, 37-year-old Brian Hall of Dallas, or 36-year-old Jerry "Nikko" Cooke of New York City since Dec. 10, when James used his cell phone to call his family. He told them he was sheltering in a snow cave while his companions started back down the mountain, apparently to get help for him.
The last clue to their whereabouts was a brief signal returned from James' cell phone Tuesday.
Dwight Hall, father of Brian Hall, told reporters on Sunday that relatives of the missing mountaineers are going through a "roller coaster of emotions."
He gulped back tears as he thanked rescuers for their efforts, and added "there's no reason to have anything less than high optimism for a successful outcome."
At the airport, friends and family members of the missing climbers put their hands on one of two Blackhawk helicopters preparing to join the search and prayed.
Frank James, brother of Kelly James, said of the helicopter pilots: "We're the cheerleaders for these guys."
OP
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I just heard 90 more minutes and they are leaving.
Nobody in cave? Aren't you supposed to take "Y" down if you leave?
I think they hiked to the summit and started down the south side. If alive.
The fact that Kelly James called for help and the other two left him makes me believe he had something very wrong and time sensitive, or the other two would have hunkered down with him, not left in a blizzard. That is why I am not more optimistic. Wouldn't make sense to me for them to make that judgement call unless he was critical.
I wonder if climbers ever carry smoke signals. Cell phones, even when dead, will recharge enough to ping except when it is very cold, I'm not sure the batteries work normally. No more pings worrisome.
Nobody in cave? Aren't you supposed to take "Y" down if you leave?
I think they hiked to the summit and started down the south side. If alive.
The fact that Kelly James called for help and the other two left him makes me believe he had something very wrong and time sensitive, or the other two would have hunkered down with him, not left in a blizzard. That is why I am not more optimistic. Wouldn't make sense to me for them to make that judgement call unless he was critical.
I wonder if climbers ever carry smoke signals. Cell phones, even when dead, will recharge enough to ping except when it is very cold, I'm not sure the batteries work normally. No more pings worrisome.
Diver Dennis
Contributor
Just some equipment left in there Catherine...
Diver Dennis
Contributor
Yes, there were a couple of ice axes, ropes and a sleeping bag in there. It looked like they had a Chinook helicopter landing on the summit...
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