Climber plunges 600 feet on Mt. Hood after losing grip on ice axe

An unidentified male climber is lucky to be alive after falling while on his descent after summiting Mount Hood in Oregon.

A male climber is lucky to be alive after losing his grip on his ice axe and plunging 600 feet while on his descent after summiting Mount Hood in Oregon.

The unidentified climber was having issues with one of his boots and while he attempted to fix it, he lost hold of his ice axe and fell down the side of the mountain, unable to self-arrest, finally coming to rest in a snowfield, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office reported on Facebook on Monday.

The climber was descending from the summit on May 24 in the Pearly Gates and Hogsback area when the incident occurred. Several bystanders witnessed the fall and immediately provided aid, food and water while contacting emergency responders.

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The Sheriff’s Office received an SOS beacon and phone call just after 8:30 a.m. that day from climbers in the Devil’s Kitchen area of Mount Hood at 9,400 feet elevation.

From the Sheriff’s Office:

Coordinators from the Clackamas County and Hood River County Sheriff’s Offices responded to Timberline Lodge and set up a command post. AMR’s Reach and Treat Team, Portland Mountain Rescue and the Hood River Crag Rats also responded to assist.

Rescue teams made their way up the mountain and reached the subject at about 1 p.m. Rescuers then assessed his medical needs, stabilized him and safely packaged him for transport down to Timberline Lodge.

Around 4 p.m., AMR transported the subject from Timberline to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

On the Facebook post, commenters applauded the Search and Rescue team for their rescue while others were amazed the climber survived.

“Minor injuries after a 600-foot fall? That’s such a miracle!” one wrote.

“Wow…Only minor injuries?! He has quite the Guardian Angel,” another wrote.

Reportedly, there are approximately up to 50 rescues per year on Mount Hood, and more than 130 people have died climbing the mountain.

In March on Mount Hood, two climbers fell 200 feet with one pronounced dead at the scene and the other transported off the mountain with critical injuries, according to Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

Photos courtesy of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and Wikipedia Commons.