Another amazing rescue (helicopter rescue on Mt Hood)

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around a helicopter rescue operation on Mt. Hood, Oregon, highlighting the skills of the pilot and the circumstances surrounding the climber in need of assistance. Participants explore various aspects of mountain rescue, the dangers of climbing Mt. Hood, and share personal experiences related to the mountain.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express admiration for the helicopter pilot's skills, noting the difficulty of landing on steep terrain.
  • There is uncertainty about the climber's condition and reasons for not descending, with suggestions that he may have been suicidal or uncooperative.
  • One participant shares personal climbing experiences on Mt. Hood, detailing the dangers of rock falls and the conditions faced during their ascent.
  • Another participant questions the safety of climbing Mt. Hood, referencing the regular fatalities due to climbers lacking skills.
  • Links to articles and images are shared to provide context and verify the location of the rescue.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the reasons for the climber's situation or the best course of action during the rescue. Multiple viewpoints regarding the dangers of climbing and the specifics of the rescue operation are presented.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the specific details of the climber's condition and the exact location of the rescue, as well as the potential risks involved in climbing Mt. Hood.

berkeman
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Not quite the Thai cave rescue, but the skill of this Chinook pilot is amazing, being able to "land" the tail of his helicopter on the side of frozen Mt. Hood in Oregon so that rescuers could evacuate a climber who needed help (in several ways). We have some amazing folks working in rescue capacities, all over the world. Hats off to their skill and training. :smile:

https://www.kgw.com/video/news/local/mount-hood-summit-rescue/283-8188870

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There’s a YouTube channel called the History Guy where he detailed a few daring rescues during WW2.

One was the first helicopter rescue of some airmen who bailed out in Japanese held territory.



And another was a sargeant and an injured nurse from an aboriginal tribe.

 
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Pretty amazing flying skills. They can't land like this if the terrain is much steeper -- they risk breaking off the rotor blades.

I've been up Mt. Hood, but the location in the clip didn't look familiar. I wasn't able to find any details, either from the link or from a quick net search.

I'm not sure why they didn't just climb down -- were some of them injured? Mt. Hood is fairly well-known for rock falls. In any case, because Mt. Hood is so close to a large city (Portland, OR), a lot more people go up than really should, due to lack of climbing skills. People die on that mountain with some regularity.
 
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Mark44 said:
I'm not sure why they didn't just climb down
The headlines read that the climber was suicidal, but I didn't read into the articles yet. If he was uncooperative, it may have been too dangerous to just try to climb down with him. I sure wouldn't trust him on my line or behind me... Glad they are all okay.
 
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@Janus, the outlined area in the image you posted is pretty much the route another guy and I did back about 30 years ago. In the upper half of the rectangle is the Hogback leading up to the steepest part, called ominously the Pearly Gates. At the right edge in the upper half of the rectangle is Steel Cliff from which rocks peel off when the weather gets warm. When I climbed the peak, we started at around 12:30am. It was starting to get light when we were on the Hogback, with a cloud obscuring the summit. You could hear rocks whizzing down from the Steel Cliff. We were wearing helmets, so I figured unless a fairly large rock with our names on it happened to get us, we'd be OK.
It was clear at the top, with views south to Mt. Jefferson and beyond, and to the volcanoes north in Washington and the Olympics. After a short break at the summet we headed back down, glad to be done as the day grew warmer (with greater rockfall danger).
 
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Yikes, that sounds pretty harrowing!

I don’t think I’d go if I’d known about falling rocks.