Climber Plans on Ending Life at Top of Mountain, 6 Rescuers Pull Him from Summit
On July 13, all eyes were fixated on Oregon’s famed Mt. Hood as a rescue team tried to evacuate a Texas man stranded at the peak.
The unidentified man was planning to end his life at the top of the mountain.
According to KOIN-TV, the man drove from Texas to Mt. Hood, intent on climbing up — but never coming back down.
He ended up changing his mind, leaving emergency response teams trying to execute a very tricky rescue.
“He ended up calling basically saying he was up there,” said Sean Collinson with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. “He was going to be taking some medication.”
Chinook helicopter at Mt Hood to rescue out of state climber #KOIN6NEWS #mthood pic.twitter.com/MziKxSIiZo
— Lisa Balick (@lisabKOIN) July 13, 2018
According to Phil Cole, a member of the 304th rescue squadron, climbing down the mountain was not an option.
During the summer, the melting Mt. Hood makes for a treacherous descent.
“This time of day the mountain just starts to fall apart,” Cole said. “Everything is melting, ice and rock is coming off the mountain.”
The Oregon Army National Guard ended up sending a CH 47 Chinook Helicopter to hover precariously at the tip top of Mt. Hood, allowing a rescue team to evacuate the man.
With astounding precision, the flight team managed to lower the Chinook onto the side of the mountain, allowing a team to reach the stranded man.
“Because of the angle, we had to crawl out there just to get under the rotor blades,” Joshua Kruse with the 304th rescue squadron said.
They found the man uninjured, and were able to safely escort him into the helicopter. The man was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital.
At the end of the day, rescuers were relieved the operation ended successfully.
Trusting in one another’s abilities was an integral part of the rescue, according to pararescuer Joshua Kruse.
“It’s surreal,” Kruse said after the rescue. “You just have to trust that the pilot knows what he’s doing and that everyone is on the same page.”
As of July 16, the climber has not been identified. KOIN reported the man has had a previous suicide attempt, but hopefully, this harrowing experience will be a turning point in the desperate man’s life.
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