Feb. 13 (UPI) — A climber died after a fall from Oregon’s Mount Hood on Tuesday, officials said.
The climber was critically injured after a fall from between 700 and 1,000 feet and was taken to a nearby hospital.The climber, who has not been publicly identified, later died from the injuries.
Several other climbers were stranded on Oregon’s tallest peak after heavy snow created dangerous climbing conditions on Oregon’s tallest mountain. But the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said rescue efforts were successful and four were able to make it down safely, including an injured climber.
“There is falling rocks and ice, which is normal when you have freezing at night and it gets so warm during the day that it creates a very hazardous and treacherous situation on the mountain. That’s what we have up today,” Clackamas County Sheriff’s spokesman Brian Jensen said.
The deceased climber fell in Mount Hood’s Hogsback area around 10:30 a.m. local time, KGW-TV reported. The area there has an elevation of approximately 10,500 feet.
The climber wasn’t rescued from the mountain until around 1 p.m. when a Black Hawk helicopter was able to make it to the area.
At least 42 people have died attempting to summit Mount Hood since 2002, according to KATU-TV.
