Rescuers: Climber fell 400 feet on Mt. Hood, sprains ankle
MT. HOOD, Ore. – A rescue team has reached a 39-year-old climber who fell Saturday morning while nearing the summit of Mt. Hood.
The fallen man is being treated by American Medical Response's Reach and Treat team, said Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Sean Collinson.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team also was at the scene.
UPDATE: On Saturday the sheriff's office reported the man fell about 1,000 feet while just 500 feet from the summit. However, when Lt. Nick Watt from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office reached the scene, he now tells us he discovered the climber had fallen 400 rather than 1,000 feet. Watt reached the mountain late Saturday.
In a statement Saturday morning, rescuers said "the individual is conscious and breathing and other climbers are with him ... The individual fell into a crevice, but was brought up by other climbers."
We now know more about the extent of the climber's injuries. Amazingly, Collinson tells us the man suffered "a severely sprained ankle" in the fall. He said the climber does not appear to have "any life-threatening injuries."
A team from Portland Mountain Rescue is on its way up the mountain late Saturday afternoon. Their goal is to bring the climber down to Timberline Lodge, Collinson said. The rescue team is expected to use a combination of a Snow Cat and a sled device with a backboard to extricate the victim.
The climber is expected to arrive back at Timberline Lodge between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m Saturday.
On July 24 another climber, a 40-year-old man, fell from around the same elevation just below Mt. Hood's summit. That climber suffered a broken leg and other cuts and bruises, and had to be airlifted out.