http://www.katu.com/news/local/Climber-falls-800-feet-on-Mount-Hood-159896335.html

Sounds likes he/she is still alive and PMRU was already on the mountain training or something so it was a quick response. We'll see once more details are released.

Yuck.

Makes me want to call a climb to the hogsback a successful climb - and turn around!

Climb beyond the hogsback - only with realy good conditions.

Reports are sketchy, but on the news they keep saying he had no ice axe or crampons.......or did they just get lost along the way down...... On the bright side, they did say he was going fast enough he launched OVER a crevasse on the way down, so it most certainly could have been worse.

It's best not to second-guess anything until the final investigation has been completed.

Man, what's wrong with this people?! That's sad.

I'm not implying here anything but some people hold the ice ax without the lush attached to their wrist or harness. I see this more and more. When I asked a girl why, she said that the way she was taught in the mountaineering class, to avoid getting hurt by the ax while losing it.

Well maybe so, but I never get apart with my ice ax or ice tools, and the lush is tightly attached to my wrist. My ice ax is the only tool that may ultimately save my life. Perhaps rope too or even better if...

I do same as clmbr does. It's loose... until I'm on a risky slope. Then I secure it to my wrist.

The down side to having your ax secured to your body is that if you lose control of the ax and start to tumble you have a fair chance of being cut, stabbed,.....

I have my tools attached via umbilicals... but if I'm just sporting a basic ice ax, I don't attach it because I change hands frequently. An umbilical wouldn't be a bad idea for an ax, though- attach with a nano or snap-link, and you can quickly switch from the head to the point, when going from shaft plunging to traction. Would require wearing a harness, though.

All this is pretty off-topic, though- this guy didn't have an ax with him to begin with... just a trekking pole.

Fred Spicker wrote:The down side to having your ax secured to your body is that if you lose control of the ax and start to tumble you have a fair chance of being cut, stabbed,.....

Well that may be true but you still have a chance to grab it and self-arrest (that's my experience), but if not, you are dead anyway; unless, lucky, but then I would not mind to have a few cuts from my ax. However, this philosophy is based on individual's perception and preference combined with (a specific) experience. You never know till something happens.

Ben B. wrote:All this is pretty off-topic, though- this guy didn't have an ax with him to begin with... just a trekking pole.

I knew a person who climbed with the ski pole with a small ax on a top (not sure how it's called). Unfortunately, he slipped on ice and self arrest with that toy did not work. And that happened not too long after we were having similar discussion.

My philosophy is "expect the worst..." but still mountains teach me new lessons. Sometimes I think such discussions are pointless or even "dangerous" and I'm not superstitious.