OR OR - Kelly James (dead), Brian Hall, 37, Jerry Cooke, 36, Mt. Hood Climbers, Dec 2006

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The sun is a very big plus this morning, and even more important, the winds at least at 6,000' are non-existant. Let's hope it stays calm at altitude today so they can drop some teams off on top of the mountain. I think that is the key--search down. They know that Kelly James is somewhere just below the summit--he should be easier to find because they at least have a rough position. Hopefully Hall and Cooke will come out of their snow caves this morning, and enjoy a little sun.
 
Floh said:
Yes. i read his positive comments earlier and posted the link a page before this one. gives great hope and everyone should read what he has to say about staying alive in a snow cave! :woohoo:
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Floh, oops---- yesterday I read allll the posts, and sort of thought the site was being followed, but had to mention it. :) So informative :)
 
Searchers hope to reach Mount Hood peak by noon

The lead team of searchers left for the Mount Hood peak at 6 a.m. and hope to make the top by noon.

The first team to head up the mountain is known as the hasty team. Those are searchers who are dispatched to the most likely locations where the lost climbers are holed up. On Saturday, the hasty team reached 10,600 feet - the highest searchers have made it since the search effort began.

Dale Atkins, an avalanche expert from Colorado, was on the lead team Saturday and is expected to be on the hasty team today, said Detective Jim Strovink of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

Scaling the mountain takes about six to eight hours in ideal conditions. Today’s weather offers climbers a rare window of opportunity. After a tumultuous week of weather, today’s winds will be calm and the sky will be clear.


http://www.oregonlive.com/newslogs/...e_oregonian_news/archives/2006_12.html#216509
 
Timeline of Peril: A chronology of events
The following is a chronology of the climbers’ scaling of Mount Hood and the subsequent search for them. To read The Oregonian’s news story covering that day’s events, click on the date:


Wednesday, Dec. 6: Three climbers leave their car at the Tilly Jane trailhead near the Cooper Spur ski area, with plans to climb Mount Hood. Kelly James, 48, and Brian Hall, 37, both of Dallas, Texas; and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, 36, of Brooklyn, N.Y., all have extensive experience climbing, including Mount Rainier and Denali. They intend to spend at least two nights on the mountain and meet friends at Timberline Lodge.

Thursday, Dec. 7: Climbers spend the night in the Tilly Jane warming hut.

Friday, Dec. 8: The climbers take the North Face route near Cooper Spur up Mount Hood.

Saturday, Dec. 9: After reaching the summit, Hall and Cooke leave James, who apparently was injured, in a snow cave and go for help.

Sunday, Dec. 10: Friends notify Hood River County sheriff's deputies that the three climbers are missing. A limited search is launched. At 3:45 p.m., James calls his family on his cell phone, calling from just below the summit near Eliot Glacier.

Monday, Dec. 11: Searchers track a ping from a cell phone at 10,300 feet, transmitted about 4:20 a.m., helping them narrow down where James is stranded. Heavy snow and strong winds force the rescue teams down the mountain after one group reached 8,500 feet. The families of all three climbers arrive in Hood River.

Tuesday, Dec. 12: The last ping from the cell phone, about 1 a.m. An estimated 40 searchers hit the mountain and a Black Hawk helicopter joins the search. However, the weather keeps climbers from going past 7,200 feet on the north side of the mountain and the helicopter to no higher than 6,000 feet. Reports of snowshoe tracks do not yield any clues.

Wednesday, Dec. 13: Weather limits searchers to the treeline. Unmanned drones are brought in, but the weather grounds them as well.

Thursday, Dec. 14: The climbers’ families’ hopes are temporarily buoyed by reports that James activated his cell phone at 10:55 p.m. Tuesday. However, it turns out the last contact with the phone was a ping at 1:51 a.m. Tuesday. Two drones are launched with negligible results and the weather again limits searchers to the treeline and lower.

Friday, Dec. 15: Winter storms stymie any climbing, and teams hunker down at Timberline, Cloud Cap and a base in Portland for a full push Saturday.

Saturday, Dec. 16: Expert climbers - 30 on the south face, 40 on the north face - head up the mountain before daybreak. Attempts to build a base camp at 9,00 feet are scrapped by midday bad weather. One team reaches 10,000 feet but is turned back by wind. Helicopters circle, one sighting what the crew thought was two people on the north face. The report turned out not to be true. A C-130 military aircraft circled at higher altitudes and continued overnight employing heat-sending infrared. All teams are called off by midafternoon.

Today: Forty-six searchers begin trekking up Mount Hood. Most set out about 6 a.m. with one team planning to strike out later in the morning. In ideal conditions, the climb to the peak takes about six to eight hours from the Cloud Cap Inn. A C-130 military plane spent the night circling the darkened peak of Mount Hood overnight, finding no trace of the missing climbers.



http://www.oregonlive.com/newslogs/...e_oregonian_news/archives/2006_12.html#216508
 
Press conference on FOX news as well. . . impatiently waiting . . .
 
According to the press conference, they expect the searchers to reach the summit by 10 AM local time today. That's only 30 minutes from now.

Plus, whatever information they got from the C-130's has allowed them to narrow the search area.
 
There are about a 100 people workig on the search, when you count the actual climbers/searchers on the ground, plus all the support personnel - with the technology, communications equipment, etc.

Frank James is on now, and his expressing his and the families profound gratitude for alll the searchers. They remain optimistic.
 
cricket said:
According to the press conference, they expect the searchers to reach the summit by 10 AM local time today. That's only 30 minutes from now.

Plus, whatever information they got from the C-130's has allowed them to narrow the search area.[/QUOTE]

That's the best news I've heard in a while. I hope it works out for everyone today.
Click to expand...
 
Just praying they find them........ all alive and ok
PLEASE PRAY EVERYONE..........

Ground searches are almost to the summit.

xxxxxxxxxxooo
mama :blowkiss: :blowkiss:
 
Searchers turn up information that narrows search effort

Officials said they have information that has narrowed the scope of the search, but they will not disclose what that information is.

The information was generated by a C-130 military plane that has been flying continuously at the 12,000-foot level, just above the mountain top.

"We found some very positive things up there," said Deputy Sean Collinson of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. "That is what we have to look into to determine if we can see these thigns close up and if we can do it safely."


Link:

http://www.oregonlive.com/newslogs/oregonian/index.ssf?/mtlogs/olive_oregonian_news/archives/2006_12.html#216518
 
Web images from Timberline archived feed:

http://public.fotki.com/MWO/saved/2006/mthood/

Current weather looks beautiful!
20061217_112706_timberline-th.jpg
 
Just read that a 'wishbone shape' was spotted in the snow last night and searchers are heading there now. Anyone hear anything abut this? I have no idea if this has been confirmed or not.
 
Someone has posted on this site http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/616247/page/1/fpart/21 a 'wishbone shape' was seen in the snow last night. searchers are headed towards that shape.

apparently a Fox newsreporter spoke to someone in the Sherrif's department after the press conference, off camera.

i have no way of substantiating this. just passing it on FYI, as we anxiously await news.

ETA: i posted the above before i read your post:

Ca-Sun said:
Just read that a 'wishbone shape' was spotted in the snow last night and searchers are heading there now. Anyone hear anything abut this? I have no idea if this has been confirmed or not.
Click to expand...

what, i wonder, could a 'wishbone shape' mean? :waitasec:
 
Floh said:
Someone has posted on this site http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/616247/page/1/fpart/21 a 'wishbone shape' was seen in the snow last night. searchers are headed towards that shape.

apparently a Fox newsreporter spoke to someone in the Sherrif's department after the press conference, off camera.

i have no way of substantiating this. just passing it on FYI, as we anxiously await news.

i posted the above before i read your post:
Click to expand...
Lets hope it is true. The reports said they found clues, so maybe this is one of them.
 
The sun being out is a mixed blessing.

Out here in Seattle, the famous cloud cover also keeps the temperatures warmer at night. Whenever it is sunny and clear, you can bet on it being COLD at night. The difference is easily 10+ degrees in the lowlands.

And as others said, it can also make the snow less stable, and more difficult to access by the rescuers.

The wind being calmer is definitely good news, though. Hopefully the rescuers can get up the mountain to the right place.

Has there been any word on the two who descended the mountain?
 
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