Signal From Climbers’ Emergency Locator Blocked

An emergency locator beacon activated by four climbers stranded on Mount Hood in a blizzard last week didn’t summon rescuers because it was in a spot where the signal could not be tracked, officials said Saturday.

“In that particular location, there was somewhat of a dead spot from the lodge that we could not hear it,” Scott Russell, president of the Mountain Signal Memorial Fund, told KEX-AM. “I could be 100 feet away and we could hear it, but that particular location … we couldn’t.”

There was nothing wrong with the equipment, Russell said.

The four climbers had taken shelter Sunday in a snow cave dug at about 9,500 feet and activated their emergency beacon.

Searchers failed to get a signal.

Signals are received by a directional antenna at Timberline Lodge, at 6,000 feet on the south face of the 11,235-foot mountain, Russell said.

“A solution would be additional receiver units located to avoid the possibility of dead spots,” he said.