At approximately 11:00 am Sunday, July 06, 2008 Portland Mountain Rescue was activated to assist in rescue of a climber who had taken a fall down the Mazama Chute at around the 10,800 ft level on Mt Hood.

The climber was descending with his team when he fell 100 feet down the slope. It was unclear what caused the fall, but when the climber’s party reached him, he was unconscious. Another climbing party that had witnessed the fall made a call to 911.

PMR member Dave Clarke was already on the mountain and was the first rescuer to reach the scene. He was joined shortly thereafter by two AMR Reach and Treat teams. The patient’s condition necessitated an air evacuation by the Oregon National Guard 1042nd Medical Company. A second PMR team was dispatched carrying ropes and a liter as a contingency plan in case the air evacuation was not possible. Other PMR members were staged at Timberline Lodge on standby. The 1042nd was successfully able to hoist the patient from the scene of the accident and flew him to OHSU. All teams were out of the field around 4:30 pm.

It’s important to remember to begin climbs early at this time of year to ensure that you are off of the summit before the snow softens and also to use proper climbing safety equipment.