Three climbers located after fall

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. – Rescuers located three climbers who fell from a ledge on snowy Mount Hood Sunday, but rescue efforts were being hampered by blinding snow and wind, officials said.

Rescuers had tried to rappel 150 feet to reach the climbers but were caught in whiteout conditions.

Officials were in sporadic cell phone contact with the three and said all were in good condition.

The three – a man and two women – had gotten into their sleeping bags for warmth Sunday evening and were waiting as rescuers neared, said Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s office.

“They’re wet, shivering and cold,” said Strovink. “They’re anxious for emergency rescue personnel to arrive.”

At least one of the three had a mountain locator unit, which emits signals used to find missing or stranded climbers. Rescue teams were using the signals to find the trio’s position on the mountain, approaching the group from three different directions.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to home right in on their exact location,” Strovink said.

He added: “I feel confident this skilled team will arrive there shortly.”

Sgt. Sean Collinson, another spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said the two women appeared to have suffered some bumps and bruises and their male companion is in good condition. He said all three “were in fairly good spirits when we talked to them on the phone.”

Shortly before noon someone in the eight-person climbing party called emergency dispatchers to say three of the climbers had fallen off a cliff.

The climbing accident occurred at about the 8,300-foot level on the mountain, Oregon’s highest, which is about 60 miles east of Portland.

The three climbers who fell were located near the five others, authorities said. The five were taken down to Timberline Lodge, a ski resort at the 6,000-foot level of Mount Hood, and all five are reported in good condition, the sheriff’s office said in an e-mail.

One of the five is Trevor Liston, of Portland.

In a brief press conference at the lodge, Liston said he was optimistic for the chances of his three companions still on the mountain: “So far, they’re doing pretty good up there from what we’ve heard.”

Liston, who did not give his age, said he saw the three fall but didn’t say how it happened. The names of the other climbers have not been released.

The mountain can be treacherous, particularly in the winter. In December, search teams scoured Mount Hood for days in the hopes of finding a group of missing climbers alive. The bodies of Brian Hall, of Dallas, and Jerry “Nikko” Cooke, of New York, have not been found. Another climber in their group, Kelly James, of Dallas, died of hypothermia.

In the past 25 years, more than 35 climbers have died on the 11,239-foot mountain, one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world.