3 Die, 8 Missing as Storm Traps Hikers on Mt. Hood

Thirteen students and advisers hiking up Mt. Hood were caught by a blinding snowstorm near the summit, and eight remained missing Wednesday as three victims who were found half-frozen died.

Two others earlier walked to safety off the 11,239-foot peak.

The three teen-agers, part of a group of climbers from a Portland high school, were found near death Wednesday morning about 7,500 feet up the mountain, which is 50 miles east of Portland.

During the day Tuesday, windchill temperatures fell to about 50 below zero.

Two girls were pronounced dead after an all-day attempt to revive them at Portland’s Emanuel Hospital, said Dr. William Long, a spokesman. The heartbeat of the third victim, a boy, was revived but hospital officials said he died several hours later. Long had said the boy had only a 10% chance of surviving.

Flown by Helicopter

The three, who were not identified, had been flown to Emanuel by helicopter, and a medical team of 40 worked in a “last-ditch effort” to revive them, spokeswoman Lori Callister said. She said their core temperature had been brought up from 43 degrees to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ten students at Oregon Episcopal School in Portland and three adults had begun climbing the mountain Monday in the annual sophomore class wilderness outing. At least one of the students had no previous climbing experience.

Helicopters were sent to rescue three searchers who fell into a crevasse Wednesday afternoon, said Sgt. Mark Ross of the Air Force’s 304th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, which was assisting in the search. He said they were uninjured.

‘Crevasse Swallowed Them’

“The crevasse opened up and swallowed them. It’s getting real touchy up there,” Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeff Murphy said later.

At least 100 people took part in the search, which was concentrated between the 8,000- and 9,000-foot levels, but had found only a glove and a mitten by midafternoon. A line of searchers walked up the southeast side of the mountain, poking the snow with long probes, while others rode in three helicopters and two snow tractors.

Authorities said they would continue to search all night if necessary, using a helicopter with an infrared device that can detect temperature variations as small as two degrees.

Searchers believed the climbers were still under the snow, Air Force Staff Sgt. John Harkness said.

“It’s disappointing. We really want to find these people,” Staff Sgt. David Bourland said.

Winds to 60 M.P.H.

Molly Schula, 17, and guide Ralph Summers, 30, were able to hike from the peak early Tuesday to seek help. They said they had climbed to within 14 feet of the summit when a snowstorm struck, with winds gusting to 60 m.p.h.

The two said they left their companions huddled in a small snow cave the party dug at the base of a glacier. Searchers found what they believed was the cave Wednesday, but it was empty, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Lt. Don Vickars said.

“I was not prepared for something like this,” Schula said. “I kept thinking I would never get home and see my mother again. All I wanted to do was go home.”

Summers said he and Schula left because he was an experienced guide and she was one of the strongest members of the group.

Parents Await Word

Ann and Bill Holaday of Longview, Wash., whose 16-year-old son, Giles Thompson, was among the missing, joined more than 20 parents waiting for word on the fate of their children.

“We’ve just been walking around,” Holaday said.