Hordes On Hood

Sun., May 28, 2000

By Ken Sands kens@spokesman.com

Mountaineering

Climbing Mount Hood, the quintessential Oregon experience, appeared to be the outdoor sport of choice for half the state last weekend.

A group of Spokane Mountaineers got an early start last Sunday and reached the summit in perfect weather. On the way down, they saw at least 100 climbers waiting their turn to ascend at the bottom of a crux point called the Hogsback.

Another 100 or more climbers were on the summit area, and a couple of hundred more were strung out along the route.

At least one rescue was needed on the mountain last weekend to help a woman who had slid down an icy slope and broke her ankle. She was not roped to her male companion, who also fell out of control while trying to help her and fell into a fumarole. He was not injured.

The rescue took about seven hours, plenty of time to catch the attention of Portland TV crews.

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