Climbers Off Mountain After Night In Snow Cave
POSTED: 9:23 am PST January 15,
2008
UPDATED: 6:44 am PST January 16,
2008
TIMBERLINE LODGE, Ore. -- Two climbers who were caught in treacherous weather on Mount Hood spent the night in a snow cave and came down the mountain Tuesday.Matthew Pitts and Justin Votos said they didn't make it to the summit of the 11,239-foot mountain Monday because the weather closed in when they were at about 10,000 feet.Interview: 
'We Though We Had A Window,' Climbers Say"You have to watch the weather reports," Votos said. "We thought we had a window and we got in trouble." On Tuesday morning, they headed down the mountain and came upon a geocache with GPS gear that allowed them to report their location to rescuers via cell phone.Search and rescue crews met the climbers Tuesday morning.Votos and Pitts, who are originally from Vermont but have lived in Portland for several years, said they were relatively experienced climbers."We were pretty prepared," Pitts said. "But if we had a GPS, we probably would've been better off."The two men were not carrying a locator beacon.After talking to sheriff's deputies, they loaded their Jeep Cherokee to drive off the mountain.Searchers included units from Portland Mountain Rescue, Mountain Wave, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, American Medical Response and the Portland-based 304th U.S. Air Force Rescue Squadron.Many rescue efforts have taken place on the heavily climbed mountain over the years, including two high-profile searches last winter. Three out-of-state climbers died in December 2006 after getting caught in a blizzard. Two months later, three hikers and a dog named Velvet were saved after falling over an icy ledge.More than 35 climbers have died on Mount Hood in the past 25 years.Climbers Off Mountain After Night In Snow Cave
'We Though We Had A Window,' Climbers Say"You have to watch the weather reports," Votos said. "We thought we had a window and we got in trouble." On Tuesday morning, they headed down the mountain and came upon a geocache with GPS gear that allowed them to report their location to rescuers via cell phone.Search and rescue crews met the climbers Tuesday morning.Votos and Pitts, who are originally from Vermont but have lived in Portland for several years, said they were relatively experienced climbers."We were pretty prepared," Pitts said. "But if we had a GPS, we probably would've been better off."The two men were not carrying a locator beacon.After talking to sheriff's deputies, they loaded their Jeep Cherokee to drive off the mountain.Searchers included units from Portland Mountain Rescue, Mountain Wave, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, American Medical Response and the Portland-based 304th U.S. Air Force Rescue Squadron.Many rescue efforts have taken place on the heavily climbed mountain over the years, including two high-profile searches last winter. Three out-of-state climbers died in December 2006 after getting caught in a blizzard. Two months later, three hikers and a dog named Velvet were saved after falling over an icy ledge.More than 35 climbers have died on Mount Hood in the past 25 years.Climbers Off Mountain After Night In Snow Cave
Previous Stories:
- January 15, 2008: Climbers Feared Missing On Mount Hood
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