Hood Climbers Recount Harrowing Tale

The three hikers rescued after a long fall and an icy night on Mount Hood said Wednesday their survival techniques included exercising, taking care of each other, and pep talks.

Matty Bryant and Kate Hanlon, both 34, made the rounds of television morning news interviews Wednesday with fellow climber Christina Redl, 26, whose injuries were still apparent from dark bruises around her eyes. Bryant also brought his dog, Velvet, who helped the climbers stay warm as they waited to be found.

Redl estimates they fell 400 to 500 feet.

"I knew we were falling. I didn't think about any disastrous scenario at all. I just knew we were falling and I felt very present in thought. I kept thinking how can I self-arrest?" Hanlon said on CBS News' The Early Show.

All things considered, Redl isn't in bad shape, reports CBS News correspondent Jerry Bowen, with only a minor head injury.

"It looks way worse than it is," she told reporters Tuesday.

"She's in real good condition, considering what she's been through," said Dr. Zane Horowitz of the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "It's nothing short of miraculous, falling that far, tied to two other people and a dog."

The three climbers set out on Saturday with five other friends — all in their 20s and 30s and from the Portland area — to scale the 11,239-foot mountain, Oregon's tallest.

But as they started their descent in blowing snow Sunday, the three — all roped together with Velvet — went over an icy ledge.

"We had no idea what kind of shape they were in. We still couldn't see very far," another member of the party, Trevor Liston, told co-anchor Harry Smith.

"They fell down an edge. We can't see them, we can't make communication with them, we tried lowering down a rope," one of the party reported to 911.

"How far did they fall?" asked the dispatcher.

"We don't know. We can't find them," was the reply.

The three were better equipped for a mishap in the cold than a party of climbers that perished earlier this winter.

"We used a combination of foam pads to lay underneath us, to insulate us from the snow. Two sleeping bags that were laying over us for some warmth. And nylon tarp to keep us safe from the wind as much as we possibly could," Bryant said on The Early Show.

And they had Velvet, a Black Labrador mix.

"At points she definitely laid on all three of us. Other times she was down at our feet, keeping herself warm as well," Bryant said.

The three also had an electronic locator unit that helped rescuers find them. On Tuesday, two days after the rescue, veteran mountaineers pleaded with state lawmakers not to require them to carry the devices every time they head for the summit.

Some warned that requiring locators would foster passivity among climbers who get into trouble and activate the beacons.

"They will wait for a rescue, and not do enough to rescue themselves," said Leslie Brown, a spokeswoman for Access Fund, a national mountaineering group.

Another said nothing can replace basic common sense when it comes to keeping people safe, and requiring electronic beacons would not be a "panacea."

"Pulling the cord (on a locator unit) doesn't turn the sky black with helicopters coming to pick you up," said Scott Russell, a veteran of numerous search-and-rescue operations. "Self-reliance and knowledge are what's going to keep you alive on the mountain."

Those arguments came as a House panel opened hearings on a bill to require that climbers who intend to go above 10,000 feet on Mount Hood from November through March carry locators that send signals to help searchers find them if they run into trouble.

Republican State Rep. John Lim said he introduced the bill mainly in response to last December's climbing accident in which three out-of-state men perished after they got caught in a blizzard near the summit of Mount Hood.

The legislation received a boost this week when three climbers trapped on the mountain overnight were rescued after they activated a mountain locator unit that led searchers directly to them.

"Certainly the timing was right," Lim told the House committee. "Instead of losing lives, they were able to save lives this time."

Hood River County Sheriff Joe Wampler, who led the December effort to find the three climbers, said requiring all climbers to have locators would cut down on the cost of rescue operations and reduce the risk to volunteer searchers by allowing them to pinpoint the location of missing climbers.

"My allegiance is with the search and rescue volunteers," he said. "As a sheriff, I'm responsible for these guys. Anything I can do to reduce the risk to them, I'm all for it."

In recent interviews, mountaineers who oppose Lim's bill had argued that while it's a good idea for climbers to carry electronic locators, requiring all climbers to do so would infringe on their freedom to pursue the sport without government interference.

In Tuesday's hearing, however, the climbers emphasized the argument that requiring the locators would give many climbers a false sense of security in what is an inherently dangerous sport.

"Mountaineering is all about judgment and making good choices," said Rocky Henderson, a team leader with Portland Mountain Rescue.