Trio of lost hikers reunited with family after cold night on Mt. Hood
NEAR MOUNT HOOD, Ore. – Three people who got lost while snowshoeing since Saturday were brought back to safety by rescuers Monday afternoon and were reunited with family members.
Search and Rescue teams were activated Sunday afternoon after Mark Kelsey, an experienced mountaineer, Margarita Estrada and Deborah Shindler got lost and spent the night in cold conditions on Mount Hood.
Just after 10:30 a.m. Monday, the snowshoers were all found safe. Search team members then spent most of the day leading them off the mountain and back to the White River West Sno Park on Highway 35 where they started their excursion. They arrived at the snow park at about 3:30 p.m.
The Hood River County Sheriff's Office initially said the group planned on camping overnight and were equipped with sleeping bags and food. But later it was learned the group did not have any sleeping bags and very little food.
The trio initially called for help Sunday afternoon while trying to reach a "rustic cabin," according to Russell Gubele with Mountain Wave Search and Rescue.
A GPS device the group carried indicated several trails to the cabin, but the one they took had been washed out when the White River flooded. The three then hiked for about 20 hours looking for the trail but were unsuccessful. They decided to call for help, getting in touch with a 911 dispatcher, and rescuers were able to pin down their location after their GPS device was able to send out a brief signal.
With the help of Kelsey's experience, the group built a snow cave for protection against the elements.
"(We) tried to sleep. We had nothing to sleep on," said Estrada. "Thank God we had Mark – we built a snow cave and tried to sleep, but couldn't sleep. And so these guys (the rescuers) saved us."
Family members said the three are good friends and the hike to the cabin was to celebrate Estrada's birthday.
Mountain Wave's search and rescue teams looked for the hikers from about 1 p.m. until dark without success on Sunday. Searchers had to turn back due to bad weather, Gubele said.
Monday morning brought excellent conditions for searchers, with sun and clear skies. Deputies said the team of about 20 searchers used two snocats to check for the hikers.
Steve Rollins with Portland Mountain Rescue said Kelsey, who is in his 60s, has solo-climbed 20,320-foot tall Mt. McKinley, also known as Denali, in Alaska in the past and is very experienced.
"If you had asked me before they got lost who I’d rather they’d be lost with, it’d be Mark Kelsey," Andy Ozeroff, Estrada’s son said. "And every single one of them’s experienced climbers in terms of wilderness survival."
The three were cold and tired but otherwise were OK. They were checked out by medics and were released to return their homes in the Portland area.
Clackamas County, Mountain Wave and Portland Mountain Rescue assisted Hood River County and the Crag Rats in the search.
Carrying a GPS and get lost.   I think somebody needs to go learn how to use a GPS.Â
A lot of folks are thanking the trip leader bring the other two through two nights in the cold and that he had extensive experience with mountain rescue. Check out "Cascade Huts" on the internet. They are heated sheds the Forest Service has allowed built on logging skid roads. They can be rented, they are not in the wilderness and accessed via roads. I feel the trio made a mistake trying to follow GPS coordinates they personally had not verified during the summer, thinking they could follow a snow covered road in a heavy snow storm. The hut is only 4 or 5 miles from US26 and when they could not find it in the first 6 hours, they should have hike back to their cars. Wandering around for 20 hours looking for the hut was the second mistake -- you had bad coordinates. From their location it is an easy walk back up the White River wash to the road. It is all to easy to call 911 on the cell phone and make posts to Facebook while you wait.
There is this comment: Â "Search and Rescue teams were activated Sunday afternoon after Mark Kelsey, an experienced mountaineer, Margarita Estrada and Deborah Shindler got lost and spent the night in cold conditions on Mount Hood."
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Then there is this comment: Â "But later it was learned the group did not have any sleeping bags and very little food."
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It is very clear that Mark Kelsey is not much of "an experienced mountaineer" if he didn't have the equipment to spend the night and enough food for several days.
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My guess is that he is "an experienced mountaineer" in his own mind when in reality he doesn't pass the common sense test.
 @RalphCramden I have to wonder what the truth is about his having sleeping bags, etc, or not as these news stations get details very screwed up as a matter of daily routine.  I know that  people  climb Mt. Hood all the time with no sleeping bags and are fine.  He sounds like he didn't do anything wrong to me.  BTW, Merry Christmas!
 @whirledworldÂ
Merry Christmas to you also.
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You're right in that news stations get it wrong often. In this case it appears that the Sheriff got some bad information.
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At the very least they needed some fuel for the human engine. No fuel, no heat. The body depends on that fuel to keep it warm. From the news reports the had "little" food. In a situation like this I would have had at least a 3 day supply with a small stove.
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I lived in the bush in Alaska in the late 60's and early 70's. There was no one to come and help me out except me. So maybe I come from that experience rather than having 911 available to bail me out if needed.
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When I climb Mt Hood I do carry a small bag, stove, extra food because you never know that could happen. Yes it adds to my total weight, yes I have to work harder than the others who travel light, but I am prepared and they are not.
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There is a saying in the back country. "Be prepared because it's awkward when you have to eat your friends".
@RalphCramden
Mother Nature can outfox even the foxiest fox in the forest. Better to be too well prepared than not, even if it's simply carrying some extra food and a Mylar emergency blanket. Not much extra weight. But it sounds as though they were in good hands. A lucky outcome and a safe return!
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But you just never know how things will turn out regardless of your preparations. Thank goodness for Search and Rescue and other volunteers who do and have helped so many out of bad situations.
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Perhaps a few more discreet cell towers up there can help in the future.
 @MikeyÂ
I always prepare for the worst case scenario. In this case I would be prepared for Mt Hood erupting, a large lahar racing down the canyon and burying me in 70 feet to hot mud and ash.
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Just kidding......8-}
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I would have at least 3 days of food, a sleeping bag and small stove to cook on.
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Since that area is wilderness cell towers are not allowed.
 @iamtrogloditeÂ
My favorite thing to carry is oatmeal. It is light and nutritious but can't be "snacked". To fix it requires water and a stove which takes time to prepare.
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I don't carry much in the way of prepared foods. It is just too heavy.
Tried that; it lasted a couple hours. We pulled over saying "oh, maybe just a little piece" next thing you know, no chocolate left. I found the best plan is to carry stuff we like, but stay away from chocolate and marshmallos, they never seem to stay in the emergency stash!
 @whirledworld  @iamtrogloditeÂ
Well DUH! The world runs on chocolate. It is always assumed that everyone will be carrying chocolate....8-}
 @RalphCramden  @iamtroglodite be sure you have lots of chocolate!!
Iagree, everyone should carry the essentials in the trunk. After all, it does not take that much room and you don't have to carry it. I like to have stuff in the car because you never know if you will break down, get in a wreck, or, like us, go out for a "couple hours ride". At least 20% of the time it turns into a all nighter, especialy if we come accross a stream we never fished before.
 @iamtrogloditeÂ
I learned a lesson very fast one year when I was young.
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I was out cross country skiing and was about a mile from the house. I could even see it from where I camped until my grandparents turned off the lights. Then I couldn't see anything.
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About midnight I started getting cold and didn't have cloths. I was damp from working hard at skiing and started to shiver. No matter what I did I couldn't get warm. I was like that all night and was running out of energy. My grandmother got up and started some tea and having her turn on the light gave me a beacon to head towards.
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I was never so glad to get inside somewhere warm as I was then. The whole incident taught me some very valuable lessons that I have never forgotten to this day.
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Even in my vehicles I have survival gear. We do a lot of winter driving in eastern Oregon and if we came across a crash or crashed ourselves we want to be prepared. We carry blankets, food, water, a small stove, solar charged flashlights, and a few other goodies just in case. Many of the places we travel have no cell service so 911 is not an option.
"I would have at least 3 days of food, a sleeping bag and small stove to cook on."
Well, with that, especialy if you are in a snow cave, A person would be sh-iting in high cotton! People just don't understand the idea of being ready for the worst. If you are warm, dry and fed, and hane company with you that are ready too, it is fun to be lost. But hungry and cold sucks even at the best of times!
The SAR is  made up of volunteers. It does not sound like they did anything stupid, but some things very smart/accountable.They brought a GPS with them, built snow cave and the usual smart things to do, including calling for help when all else failed.  Hiking a mountain trail in the snow is safer when the snow is solid  i the winter than in warm weather when it is rotting and you can fall into a  deep crevasse otherwise hidden from view. Merry Christmas, grinchy. Have some spiked eggnog or some fudge, and relax : )
 I am glad they are safe "But" they need to pay all or part of the rescue cost's to hike a mountain trail in December means huge risks, be accountable for your actions people, I do not want to pay for other people's stupidity!
Welcome home, folks... and Merry Christmas..! Â :-)
"If you had asked me before they got lost who Iâd rather theyâd be lost with, itâd be Mark Kelsey," Andy Ozeroff, Estradaâs son said. "And every single one of themâs experienced climbers in terms of wilderness survival."
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"I watched him pack for this trip and itâs ridiculous how much stuff he puts into his bag and carries,"Â Kelsey's daughter Alexandra Kelsey said, but added "Iâm still worried, regardless. Iâm sure he would be fine."
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Steve Rollins with Portland Mountain Rescue said Kelsey, who is in his 60's, has solo-climbed 20,320-foot tall Mt. McKinley, also known as Denali, in Alaska in the past and is very experienced.
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I would argue that 911 call was an example of discretion being the better part of valor.   I am wholly confident that had Mark been alone, left to his own devices on this trek, there would have been no call.    I am also very sure that the responsibility of two other lives determined the prudent exercise of caution.  It is one thing to embrace the challenge before you when it is only your life on the line, quite another when there are two lives who are relying upon you to keep them safe.  I know the capabilities of Mark, he is no fool, and he leaves nothing to chance. He kept these women safe, in conditions that caused rescuers to retreat.
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And to those, who believe that there should be a fine, or a cost, for those rescued, and the resources required to affect this rescue:  In the instance at hand, with my brother's many years in service to Search and Rescue, and the countless lives he has saved,  why don't we just call it square?  Aloha  Â
 @Brant Kelsey Agreed x 1000!!!..... and Merry Christmas to you and your  still intact and no doubt relieved family.Â
Solo climing Mt McKinley is a major feat just by itself. That takes a lot of planning and preparation. It also would take a lot of strength and courage.
Great job all around. It is good to plan each trip, even if it is just a short day hike. Sometimes things happen that no one wants.
Glad it all worked out well for all involved!
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 @HarryJuku Charged for the rescue maybe but fined....no!  It is not against the law to get lost hiking!
 @B Smizzle  @HarryJuku The rescuers are volunteers, so forget the $$ aspect people. Geez.
 @B Smizzle  @HarryJuku  Why are you concerned with my panties? Who is spreading the rumor that I  even wear panties?
 @whirledworld  @HarryJuku I realize that, however there are signs that say you could be charged for search and rescue if you get lost all over the mountain so not sure why your panties are getting in such a bunch!
 @HarryJuku Maybe if they would have taken armed guards they wouldn't have gotten lost.
 @HarryJukuÂ
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Come on Harry, this never would have happened if they're have been armed guards on the mountain!
@HarryJuku Just make the check payable to MT. HOOD RESCUE FUND.
 @JLO  @HarryJuku And then perhaps a residual check will be mailed to Mark Kelsey:  Though he was one of the "rescued" he was also a member of search and rescue for many years, and brought many down from that mountain. The distress call was a prudent move on his part, as his consideration was not for himself alone, but for the women he was "guiding" on this "adventure".  I was with my brother in November when this trip was planned, when the phone call came in to enlist his service.  I can assure you, Mark's experience, enabled all to survive an evening on Hood, where conditions were dangerous enough that the Sunday search was "called off". Â
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 @HarryJuku Oh lord, you fussy precious  little thing! Bet you want a conceirge' to bring you every little thing  you can possibly think of at your beck and call, too?Â
 @HarryJuku So, you never do anything interesting, energetic, or risky! Congratulations on a truly pointless life!Â
 @HarryJuku  @JLO Instead, you would be one of the dummies Harry, that would go strolling around when it's warm and the snow is rotting and you would lose your life falling into a hidden crevasse when the snow gave out.
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 @nwipac They were OK till some just started using them out of spite and/or sheer meanness, regardless of the comment.
So, glad they are found safe. NIce work rescue team.
Very happy they are all OK and coming home safely..! Â Â Another "job well done" by our fantastic search-and-rescue teams..! Â
Merry Christmas, folks..! Â :-)
 @margay1 Merry Christmas, Margay!  : )
 @margay1 Of which my Brother, one of the members of this trio, was a member for many long years.  He has brought many people off that mountain.  Proving the old adage, what comes around goes around..............and the Kelsey family as well as the families of the two women who accompanied Mark will also embrace one another with a little more urgency this Christmas. For those who make the callous, thoughtless, and moronic statements with regard to human beings who find themselves in distress I forgive you.  The bravery of your keyboard and your anonymity are all that separate you from the general scorn that most feel toward you.
 @Brant Kelsey  @margay1 I've climbed with Mark in the early 90's.  Most experienced outdoorsmen I've ever met.
 @Brant Kelsey ~  Pay no mind to the people spouting the snarky remarks, Brant... they are nothing but trolls, and are not deserving of attention.  Â
The only thing I've ever done on mountains is ski down them, but I think that it's possible for people (climbers or whatever), even with years and years of experience and a lot of attention to safety, to get off course / lost... Â Calling for help doesn't mean you're stupid or a wussie or anything other than you value your life and those of your companions. Â
Enjoy Christmas with your brother..! Â :-)
"I watched him pack for this trip and itâs ridiculous how much stuff he puts into his bag and carries,"And that's why he survived the night and the people with him are safe, too. SMART to take the things you need to survive.
 @AmiM They are safe, warm, and have the love of their families and that is what matters most. Mark is as competent a human as you will find. And if alone on this trek would have embraced the challenge before him.  However, he also was accompanied by two women, not nearly as experienced as he, they were in his stead, his protection.  I was there when this trip was arranged in late November, and it was the women who enlisted Mark for this endeavor, precisely because he worked as a member of the mountain rescue team for many years.  Keep in mind, that the conditions on Sunday were unforgiving, to the extent that the rescue team retreated. I have heard Mark recount his Solo climb of Mt. McKinley, it was not a walk in the park, and brought many conditions that were dangerous and possibly fatal.  Mark is a compassionate and extremely competent climber, and extremely familiar with Mr. Hood, it is the only place on earth that he finds real peace. He is my brother.  I love Him.  And there are no finer more competent hands to be entrusted to ensure your safety and survival than his. I would trust him implicitly without hesitation on any mountain anywhere.   And for those who suggest otherwise, they are simply speaking from an orifice most use to defecate from..........Aloha...... Brant
someone with extensive training and outdoor experience doesn't get lost....just sayin'
Common Sence: try using what your name claims before posting.
 @Common Sence Yes they can. You know nothing  about what you are trying to comment on. Your ignorance is appalling.Â
 @Common Sence Tell that to Christopher Columbus and other great adventurers... (People who rarely venture out of their "safe" routines wouldn't understand these things.)
 @Common Sence I don't care how experienced you are, if you are out in the back country enough sooner or later you are going find yourself not where you thought you were.  If it hasn't happened to you then you have an experience waiting for you.  I just hope that your pack has the right survival equipment to survive to tell the story.  Dave
 @Common Sence If Mark had been there by himself likely there would have been no distress call.  However, he had two companions who did not share his experience and his knowledge. It was prudent to call for rescue for many reason not visible at first blush.  You are talking about a guy who did a solo ascent of Mt Mckinley, and who also is my brother.  There are probably few humans on this planet more qualified and more prepared for any conditions one might encounter:  I'm sure it was out of interest for the peace of mind of his companions that this call went in. Â
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 @nwipac  @Common Sence YOu cannot say what you would do unless you were there and since you were not you speak from total ignorance, which is the wussiest of all.
Actually they can be temporarily lost or misguided. Depending on the accuracy of their equipment, maps, compass, GPS if they have one etc. Whether there are good trail markers.
 @Common Sence That's nonsense. Could happen to anyone. Thankfully, they were prepared and that's probably why they're all okay now.
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Probably using one of those "oh so great" gps toys. Yesterday I was driving down a gravel road on the back end of Silver Falls Park, came up on a family at the crossroad in a suv. Waited for about a minute wondering why he did not go; he got out and asked me where the lodge was. I told him go left about 5 minutes and you could not miss the sign. He said his gps told him to go back the direction he ha just came from (and I had). I wonder if those things realy work right, or do people just not understand how to set them? I looked at the thing, and it sure was not putting the lodge or south falls in the right place, about 4 miles off as the crow flys.
Hope they find these folks in one piece, and I hope people check out their toys before depending on them with their life. Can you set them, or is the info already loaded in? I never owned one, I still know how to read a map! (always thought they were so cool when I was a kid, I spent hours staring at them and dreaming)
The hiking GPS I use came with a disk to load data on for where you want it. It also updates location if it can "see" the satelites. I also print out a regular map of the area I am going, to I can mark it up or keep in plastic. Works great.
Glad these three came out of it alright. with their experience it is what helped them survive overnight. Thank you to the SAR crews!
 @iamtroglodite Some GPS units don't work well is mountainous terrain (or cities with large building for that matter) where GPS coverage is spotty.  By "spotty" I mean that the satellite's line of sight is lost to trees or terrain.  The fewer satellites picked up by the unit, the further off the user's position will appear on the map.  Also, the accuracy of the POI (Point of Interest) database in the unit is dependent upon the manufacturer of the GPS device.  Some are better than others.
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Regarding using a GPS to find a cabin or such in the bush is another issue altogether and once again relies on the quality of the GPS unit as well as the map and map detail. Â In the bush, the consequences of an inaccurate GPS are even more dire in that 10' one way or another can cause you to miss a trail or put you off of a ridge completely. Â Using a GPS on foot is a bit more difficult and requires a lot of foresight and preparation in addition to having an actual, physical map. Â I wouldn't ever trust just a GPS in the wilderness on foot.
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For cars, though, I too was trained on how to use a map and compass, but I'd rather use a GPS if given a choice because hey, I'm human and I like convenience.
Thank you, negativerep! I always wondered about those things; I have read and heard about people gettig lost using them. That also might explain the one not working for that guy last night. The gravel road has some pretty dense forest and, of course, hills all around Silver Falls Park. I folllowed him and he got there fine.
 @iamtroglodite I don't know if they can be 'set'...it seems like it should be 'functional' out-of-the-box. I remember a story where airports had to re-stripe their runways because of the shift of the magnetic poles...I wonder if that magnetic shift is having the same effect on these units...especially in areas where most of the roads are unimproved.
 @str1ngb3nd3r  @iamtroglodite They are linked to a dozen satiights.  Magnetic poles have nothing to do with it.  They are simple to use and to set up.  Normaly they come from the mid west and that location is in the unit.  Reset for the location and time where you are and they are ready to go.  Â
These units can (and should be regularly) updated - however, as was mentioned, magnetic poles have NOTHING to do with them! They determine their location, and yours, by means of a string of satelites in space, three os which have to line up at any one time for triangulation purposes. If it can't receive 3 signals, then they can be "off".
 @Saywhat? Unless maps are updated in the unit itself, I would think Grid North and Magnetic North would remain unchanged. Magnetic poles are always shifting...so wouldn't that explain how your current location can be off with what is shown on a GPS with out-of-date maps?