Mt. Hood Climbers Await Rescue

Three climbers who fell from a ledge on snowy Mount Hood were huddled in their sleeping bags early Monday as rescuers waited for daybreak to zero in on their position despite blowing snow and ferocious winds.

Rescuers reached the general area where the three climbers had found shelter behind rocks earlier Monday, a day after the climbers fell, said Russell Gubele, who was coordinating communications for the rescue operation.

"They're not far away from the climbers," he said.

But the rescue teams decided to camp out and resume their push at daybreak Monday because they can't seen anything, Gubele said, and "it's extremely treacherous up where they are. One false step could be not good."

Battling winds up to 70 mph and blowing snow, rescue teams had worked through the night trying to locate the climbers. The were also hoping to beat a snow storm expected later in the day.

Rescuers hadn't made visual contact with the three climbers — two women and a man — but were in cell phone communication with them.

The three had gotten into their sleeping bags to stay warm.

"They also have a Labrador dog with them that is cuddled up with them to help them keep warm," Gubele told AP Broadcast News. "My understanding is that they are experienced rock climbers, but not necessarily experienced in mountain climbing."

Still, officials were worried.

"There's always danger of exposure on Mount Hood," Gubele said.

At least one of the three had a mountain locator unit, which emits signals used to find missing or stranded climbers. Rescuers were using the signals to try to locate their precise position.

"They're wet, shivering and cold," said Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's office. "Hopefully we'll be able to home right in on their exact location."

Sgt. Sean Collinson, a spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's office, said the two women appeared to have suffered some bumps and bruises and their male companion is in good condition. He said all three "were in fairly good spirits when we talked to them on the phone."

The drama began shortly before noon Sunday, when someone in an eight-person climbing party called emergency dispatchers to say three of the climbers had fallen about 100 feet off a cliff.

The fall occurred at about the 8,300-foot level on the mountain, which is about 60 miles east of Portland.

Battling snow and high winds, a team of rescue mountaineers scrambled up the mountain to search. The other members of the party were told to dig a snow cave and wait for help.

Authorities said the climbers' electronic locator device helped rescuers find them. One of the devices was activated after the fall, authorities said.

The five rescued climbers were taken down to Timberline Lodge, a ski resort at the 6,000-foot level of Mount Hood, and all are reported in good condition, the sheriff's office said in an e-mail.

At a news conference at the lodge, one of the rescued climbers, Trevor Liston, of Portland, said he was optimistic for companions still on the mountain: "So far, they're doing pretty good up there from what we've heard."

Liston, who did not give his age, said he saw the three fall but didn't say how it happened. The names of the other climbers have not been released.

The mountain can be treacherous, particularly in the winter. In December, search teams scoured Mount Hood for days in the hopes of finding a group of missing climbers alive. The bodies of Brian Hall, of Dallas, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, of New York, have not been found. Another climber in their group, Kelly James, of Dallas, died of hypothermia.

In the past 25 years, more than 35 climbers have died on the 11,239-foot mountain, one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world.