Weather shuts down search for three missing climbers on Mount Hood

Monday, December 11th 2006, 12:25 pm

By: News On 6

COOPER SPUR, Ore. (AP) Rescue teams headed up the flanks of treacherous Mount Hood on Monday to search for three climbers reported missing in heavy snow, but were ordered off the mountain when conditions became too dangerous.

Officials described the three men as experienced but said none had climbed Mount Hood before.

The mother of Kelly James, 48, of Dallas, told authorities he had called his son on a cell phone Sunday to say he was stranded in a snow cave just below the summit of the 11,239-foot peak and his companions had gone for help.

"From the conversation, it left us very concerned for the person's welfare," Hood River County Chief Deputy Jerry Brown said.

Rescuers were unable to re-establish cell phone contact with James, and there was no sign of the other men, identified as Brian Hall, 37, of Dallas, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, 36, of New York.

Snow was falling heavily Monday at a lodge where the three men were supposed to meet friends on Friday or Saturday. Up to 18 inches of snow was expected through Tuesday, along with wind gusts of 55 mph that will reduce visibility and raise the risk of avalanches.

The Oregon Air National Guard said the weather was too dangerous to attempt a helicopter rescue, but a chopper was on standby in case the weather improved.

The seven three-member rescue teams searching for the men encountered wind gusts of 80 mph and blowing snow, Deputy Marc Smith said. They didn't get higher than 8,500 feet.

The teams planned to try again on Tuesday, Smith said.

About 10,000 people a year start for the summit, and on average 20 to 25 have to be rescued.

The three men left their car Wednesday to climb the difficult north side of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest peak. They had planned to spend two nights on the mountain.

The route the climbers took is very difficult, with slopes of 50 or 60 degrees and occasional sheer walls of ice, said Steve Rollins, a rescue leader with Portland Mountain Rescue, which sent two teams up the mountain.

Rollins said conditions on the mountain were deadly, with hard ice, high winds and heavy snow. "There is no easy way off the mountain," he said.

A note that the missing climbers left at a Forest Service station said they were taking "minimal gear," Doug Jones, a permit specialist with the Mount Hood National Forest, told The Oregonian newspaper.

It was the second time in less than a month that someone was reported missing in snowy, isolated areas of Oregon. James Kim of San Francisco died of exposure after leaving his wife and their two small daughters in their snowbound car while he struck out on his own in search of help. His wife and children were rescued.