Why Is Mt. Hood America’s Deadliest Peak?
January 23, 2009
Two recent accidents on Mt. Hood have many questioning whether Oregon’s high-profile mountain may be America’s most dangerous peak to climb. The experienced climber’s perspective of Mt. Hood has always been one of a decent challenge, but under good circumstances, one of the easier alpine peaks to summit. Hundreds (and probably thousands) climb Mt. Hood every year. Most of these people have a great time and summit without a problem. Deaths on Mt. Hood are quite rare given the amount of people who climb it and how popular this peak has become over the past 10 years. So is Mt. Hood really that dangerous, or has it just been the victim of the media giving it a bad reputation?
Over the course of 25 years, 36 deaths have been recorded on Mt. Hood. Much of these deaths are attributed to only a few factors. The first would be weather. Winds can typically reach 100 mph and storms from the Pacific have a tendancy to sweep in without warning. The three deaths from December of 2006 are attributed to just such a storm. All three climbers perished after getting stuck in a fast moving storm that blocked rescuers from being able to locate them early in the search.
The most recent death on Hood is attributed to falling ice. Brooke Colvin was recently hit by falling ice while climbing with her husband. The impact forced Brooke to fall more than 400 feet. She and her husband were climbing in an area known as “The Pearly Gates”. The same area where another fall took place just a week prior. The Pearly Gates is a gully feature found along the trail of one of Mt. Hood’s easiest routes. It also happens to be the single-most deadliest area on Mt. Hood.
How could something be considered the ‘easies’ and ‘deadliest’ at the same time?
This goes to our third factor and the one that Backbacker Magazine blogger Ted Alverez recently took up on Backpacker’s ‘The Pulse‘ blog. Inexperience. People do not come to Mt. Hood with an abundance of mountain climbing experience. It has become so accessable in recent years that many people looking for a thrill on a big peak have heard that this is one of the easiest to climb. They don’t mind giving it a shot. These same people usually show up and think Mt. Hood is going to be a walk in the park. Many of them lack any sort of equipment and very little experience. If something goes wrong, generally it goes wrong in a big way.
Not every climber is inexperienced on Mt. Hood. The three climbers involved in the accident in 2006 had much experience and were using Mt. Hood as a training course before a planned trip to Mt. Everest. What they lacked was the proper equipment for sitting out a storm. They thought it was going to be an easy up-down, then back home trip, that would take only a few hours. Mt. Hood had other plans.
No peak is safe to climb. There may be some that are easier than others, but all peaks are dangerous and should be respected with safety in mind. Yes, they are beautiful. They offer a nice challenge to those looking for such. You should know exactly what you are up against, what kind of weather you MIGHT run into, then plan your trip accordingly. Mt. Hood, like any peak, can be a dangerous place to get stuck. Know your limits and know your peak.
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Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under Mt. Hood |
I can tell you why Mt. Hood claims so many lives and causes so many injuries. Accidents can happen at any moment up on Mt. Hood, as on any other mountain, but many of these accidents would be preventable, if people, even those that call themself experts with a large repotire of mountain climbing around the world, would just use their God given brains.
They do a number of things that set them up for disasters. When the freeze level is up high, especially in the summer, one needs to be on the summit soon after full day light, look around and get down, as that snow and the rocks are going to loosen up, especially on the north side of the mountain, which is much more difficult to climb. Best to stay off the mountain in the months of August and September for this reason, especially if you don’t know what you are doing. Unfortunately, this has been the case in a number of the accidents.
Another problem are these people that climb alone. They are just setting themselves up for trouble.
As to the winter climbing, that is another potential leathal set up. A beautiful day can turn very quickly into a nightmare of blizzard conditions.
I know somewhat about these situations, as growing up in the Crag Rats, a Hood River, Oregon Search and Rescue organization, I have had many tense moments when my brorthers and nephews have had to put their lives in jeopardy, to go up in the most hazardous conditions to haul a body or bring an injured climber down, who just didn’t use good judgement.
One would think when a tragic accident happens, people would get the message, but sooner or later and lots of times sooner, the same thing happens.
I was brought up to love, but respect Mt. Hood, as that mountain is out to get you if you let it.