Searchers find ice cave, footprints, gear near peak of Mount Hood

[The Straight Story]

Searchers find ice cave, footprints, gear near peak of Mount Hood

HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) - Helicopters looking for three missing climbers found a snow cave near the summit of Mount Hood on Sunday, officials said. Footprints and climbing gear were also spotted.

Search teams will decide at the site whether rescuers will be lowered to the mountain or climbers at the summit will descend, said Sgt. Gerry Tiffany, of the Hood River County sheriff's office.

Officials said they were certain they had found a snow cave about 300 feet from the summit of the mountain.

It is near the spot where one of the missing climbers placed a distress call from his cell phone a week ago, Tiffany said.

Helicopters spotted rope that had been intentionally laid out in a Y-shape, which some rescuers said is commonly used by climbers. There was also an ice spike and footprints, Tiffany said.

http://www.katu.com/news/4940077.html

[karlrschneider]

1. The cave was searched. No people, some equipment was inside.

They will be found...next April or May probably.

[CoffeeCat]

2. Ohhh....why didn't they...

...stay in the cave?

:(

[karlrschneider]

4. Well, it's not been verified for sure it was THEIR cave as far as I can tell.

There seems to me a chance the stuff was left by someone else...maybe long ago...? I dunno...

[Hoosier]

5. or tomorrow

C'mon, man, show some hope.

[karlrschneider]

10. I ran out of hope 2,945 troops ago.

...

[Trajan]

3. Cave empty of human beings

Location unknown ...

[AllyCat]

6. I hope they are found...maybe they just stepped out to get something

they thought would help them. All went to the pit together? I'm glad we are looking for them and I hope they are found, but having done small group climbs and backcountry trips before, I know that it should be the responsibility of the climbers to pay for their rescue.

Maybe good weather will find them alive and unharmed.

[Wonk]

7. You don't leave your ice axe behind if you can help it.

This isn't looking good for a successful rescue of the three on Mt Hood.

Has M$M mentioned Christine Boskoff and Charlie Fowler being missing at all? Not that I've heard. Odd, that they're giving such intense coverage to one incident but ignoring the other.

http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?news=15388

6:32 pm EST Dec 14, 2006
American star climbers Charlie Fowler and Christine Boskoff are missing in China, Alpinist reports today. This is very unsettling news for the American climbing community. With 6, 8000ers summited, Christine is among the top female high altitude climbers in the world. She mantled the Himalayan commercial outfit Mountain Madness after founder Scott Fisher vanished on Everest.

Charlie Fowler is described by Alpinist as "one of America's most prolific pioneers, with countless expeditions and first ascents to his credit."

After months of climbing in central-western China, the two traveled to Genyen, in China's Western Sichuan Province, November 9 to do a 2 day hike to an un-named 6000-meter peak in Dechin. After the climb, they expected to return November 25 and catch a December 4 flight home. When the two failed to show up in US however, a search party was sent to Litang today to investigate the town for clues about the Americans, but has found no information regarding any stays in local hotels or other details yet.

more

[XOKCowboy]

11. Oh That's not good..

I was just reading about their K2 expedition in '02. I didn't know about this.

Here's the link to their K2 expedition.

http://www.k2news.com/k22002/k202cb.htm

[Catchawave]

8. It's been so heartbreaking watching the families

give daily pressers too :(

I don't think this was their cave either, daylight still as I type, so maybe we'll hear something before PST dark.

Thoughts with the families :grouphug:

[cwydro]

9. Latest I heard

is they do think it was the cave Kelly James telephoned from...pretty much exact location. Fingers crossed, but I'm worried now. Seems with all that activity on a clear day that they would be out waving or whatever...

I do hope this ends well.