Dog Helped Saved Mount Hood Climbers

Rescued Man And Two Women Taken To Hospital, Expected To Be Fine

(CBS/AP)  For three climbers stranded on Mount Hood, survival came down to a live transmitter and a warm dog.

Covering up with two sleeping bags, a tarp and a black Labrador named Velvet as winds howled around them at up to 70 mph, two women and a man beamed signals to rescuers who were able to fix their precise location.

Rescuers say the dog's body warmth probably saved the climbers' lives, reports CBS News correspondent Jerry Bowen. One climber was taken to a hospital for a head injury; Velvet, the Black Lab, was checked out, too.

On CBS News' The Early Show, Bob Alexander of Mountain Rescue, part of the team that brought the climbers back to safety, described the conditions on the mountain as "pretty miserable."

"It was high winds, blowing snow, temperatures in the 20s," Alexander said.

After Velvet helped the climbers through the night on the 11,239-foot mountain, radio transmitters the size of sunglasses cases led rescuers to the group.

The three were taken away in an ambulance late Monday, with Velvet leaping in behind them. The climbers were expected to be fine.

"I'm really glad (the rescuers) were there for us. They did an incredible job. They were amazing," said Matty Bryant, Velvet's owner.

Velvet, a Labrador-shepherd-cattle-dog mix, was adopted by Bryant after she jumped into his car two years ago during a Nevada climbing trip, reports The Oregonian newspaper. She took turns lying atop the climbers through the night.

The transmitting devices, called Mountain Locator Units, are available for rental around the Mount Hood area. While lauding the dog, search leaders also gave due credit to the devices and the climbers' use of them.

"The most important part of this rescue is that they did everything right," said Lt. Nick Watt of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

Brian Bate, operations supervisor of the REI outdoors store in downtown Portland, said mountaineers can rent the units for $5 a climb — for a party of eight, that means $40.

But the devices are set up only to transmit, not to receive, Bate said. And the signal is received only by the Clackamas County sheriff's office, at the base of Mount Hood, and then only when the department is looking for a climber, he said.

That makes filing a trip report with friends, relatives and authorities "really, really important," Bate said.

Three climbers who became stranded on Mount Hood in December did not have such a locating device. One climber made a cell phone call to his family, but the phone went dead within days. The three climbers stranded this week had cell phones, as well as global-positioning devices that helped rescue teams home in on them.

"We're soaking wet and freezing," said one of two rescued women Monday as she walked from a tracked snow vehicle to the ambulance.

One of the women, age 26, whose name was not released, was taken to a Portland hospital and being treated for a head injury, said Jim Strovink, sheriff's spokesman.

"She's going to be fine," he said.

Two others, Bryant, 34, a teacher in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie, and Kate Hanlon, 34, a teacher in the suburb of Wilsonville, were taken to Timberline Lodge on the mountain to rejoin five other members of the climbing party that set out Saturday but ran into bad weather.

Velvet was treated Monday night at DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital in Portland for broken toenails and a cut on one paw.

"Velvet is a wonder dog," said Trevor Liston, one the climbers.

The party was separated when the three climbers slipped off a ledge at about 8,300 feet, slid about 500 feet down an incline and later moved from the site of the fall.

Their five companion climbers made it off the mountain Sunday and were reported in good condition.

Liston was the fourth climber on the line, said at a news conference that the three climbers in the lead were holding onto a rope when they slipped over the ledge. The dog was clipped to the rope and was also dragged down, he said.

"The lead climber went," and "two people right behind him didn't have enough time to react," Liston said.

The climber behind Liston grabbed him, or he might have gone over the edge, too.

Rather than attempt a rescue, the climbers decided to use a cell phone to call authorities, Liston said.

"It's a very hard decision to make," but "we didn't want to have eight people fall instead of three," Liston said.

About 10,000 climbers attempt to scale Mount Hood annually. One to three of them die each year. During the past 25 years, more than 35 climbers have died on Mount Hood, one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world, reports CBS News correspondent Stephan Kaufman.

[dmac60]

Idiots... Irresponsible does not define enough these people. Did we not just have the same trajic episode play out for all to see just a few short months ago when 3 other climbers die (1found) 2 still missing. These people are educators....Please!! Fools, yes.. We are not talking about a casual walk enjoying nature. I am sick and tired of seeing this same song play over and over. For all the people that somehow defend this thrill seeking behavior and compare it to a walk to the park or a drive to the store or work, are you also that ignorant? It's time that access needs to be denied and for those morons that have taken the high risk play the dangerous game to pay up!!! Do not feel bad for these fools.

[mcbobie-2009]

I can't understand how someone would be stupid enough to climb Hood in the winter time with a dog!! Dogs don't belong on alpine climbs!!

[knyghtwolf]

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/20/people_hot_water/main2495147.shtml go here to check it out, CBS has it now, LOLOLOL My daughter has finally seen the light about these "Wanna-be" industrial churned out entertainers, she is now doing her homework without being told. THANK YOU BRITNEY SPEARS, YOU HAVE DONE MY DAUGHTER A GREAT SERVICE, SHE HAS SEEN YOU FOR WHAT YOU REALLY ARE AND HER MOTHER AND I THANK YOU!!!!! GOOD LUCK IN REHAB, STAY THIS TIME.

[knyghtwolf]

Just a change of subject in case no one else could see this article thgdriver, I thought I included the link to it but I guess it got left out, but I did find and copy that part of it off the article, I think it was Fox news service that posted the story, just wanted to give sleeping dogs a chance to take a nap, LOLOL

[ecuadoriana]

Velvet is an incredibly brave animal. What a hero. I just wish she had eaten those dumb shmucks who put her in that dangerous situation.

Why doesn't the news articles report how idiotic & irresponsible those people are?

[thgdriver]

Anybody that equates thrill seekers climbing Mt. Hood in the dead of winter with 70 MPH winds To an auto trip to the local mall is an idiot. In any case, autos have high priced insurance that is mandatory in my state for unforeseen accidents that may arise.

What insurance did these morons pay for and have in place to offset the costs of their folly and rescue?

Next time leave the cell phones and rescue signal devices home. Oh, And leave the dog home too!!

[thgdriver]

knyghtwolf

What the hel! are you talking about?

[knyghtwolf]

Esther's Haircutting Studio, where Spears shaved her head, set up a Web site to auction off her hair and other items for a minimum price of $1 million, J.T. Tognozzi, who owns the salon with his wife, told the AP on Tuesday.
"This is it, the opportunity of a lifetime," according to BuyBritneysHair.com. The winning bidder gets Spears' dark, knotty hair extensions, the clipper she used to cut them off, the Red Bull she drank at the salon and her cigarette lighter.
Tognozzi said he'd placed the items for sale on the eBay auction Web site, which later took them down, for reasons unknown to him.
This just in from another news website, Britney Spears the NEW Anna Nicole Smith....not until after she dies too would be my guess. Be an Pop Idol or just be. What to choose!!!!

[thgdriver]

Anybody that equates thrill seekers climbing Mt. Hood in the dead of winter with 70 MPH winds To an auto trip to the local mall is an idiot. In any case, autos have high priced insurance that is mandatory in my state for unforeseen accidents that may arise.

What insurance did these morons pay for and have in place to offset the costs of their folly and rescue?

Next time leave the cell phones and rescue signal devices home. Oh, And leave the dog home too!!

[gbeabs]

I'm pretty confident the dog needs a real meal, a full-stretch-week-long nap on the couch, and a full promise: never again, I promise. Dogs are smarter than we are and by nature they are heroic. They put themselves last.

Maybe these teachers/winter Mt. Hood-trekkers have learned a lesson.