By GILLIAN FLACCUS
GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) — The man who fell 1,000 feet to his death Tuesday while summiting Mount Hood has been identified as Miha Sumi, 35, of Portland.
Sheriff’s officials on Wednesday said Sumi and his group had “mid-level experience” and were properly equipped with ice axes, crampons and helmets.
Other climbers not in Sumi’s party reached him and found him bleeding from the ears with fading vital signs. They performed CPR for 90 minutes before a helicopter could airlift Sumi off the 11,240-foot dormant volcano.
Three other climbers in Sumi’s party were stranded high on Hood’s icy slopes Tuesday as a storm approached.
The Oregonian said Sumi worked at Portland-based Jet Reports, which makes Excel-based business reporting products.
Compounding the difficulty of Tuesday’s rescue was the fact that for at least several hours, officials weren’t sure exactly how many people remained on Mount Hood. At one point, they said they could be looking for anywhere between seven and 15 people.
Unlike on some other iconic peaks in the West, there is no registration requirement to scale Mount Hood and no one monitors the skill level or preparedness of those attempting an ascent. There is also no limit on how many can summit the peak each day.
That no-permit system and the peak’s proximity to a major city can combine for a chaotic climbing environment on a mountain that seems accessible but is also home to 11 active glaciers and deep crevasses and prone to avalanches and weather that can change in minutes.
It takes only 90 minutes to drive from Portland to Timberline Lodge, where climbers can park in a lot that’s only 5,000 feet below the summit. Someone in good shape who is properly prepared can easily complete the climb in a day and be back in Portland for dinner.
“There’s no minimum qualification to do it,” said Sgt. Brian Jensen, spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department. “There’s a bunch of warning signs in here but if someone says, ‘Hey, I’m on vacation in Oregon and I’ve never climbed a mountain before and I want to climb Mount Hood,’ there’s nothing keeping them from doing it.”
Jennifer Wade, recreation and lands program manager for the Mount Hood National Forest, said in response to an e-mail Wednesday that the mountain does not have a “check-in, check-out” system and rescues are only triggered by a 911 call. Mountaineering clubs offer training, but there are no requirements for scaling the peak, she said.
More than 130 climbers have died on Mount Hood, including an entire party of school children and their teachers who froze to death in 1986 while awaiting rescue and several climbers whose bodies have never been found.
Accidents like the one Tuesday periodically stir debate about whether Mount Hood should have a permit system for climbers or stricter rules, Morford said. Climbers obtain a wilderness permit and are encouraged to fill out a form listing their planned route, the equipment they have and contact information, but it’s not mandatory and many don’t do it, he said.
That’s different from the approach on some other iconic peaks.
Mount Rainier in Washington state limits the number of climbers on different parts of the mountain due to wilderness, overnight campsite and other considerations. Nearly 11,000 people registered to climb the 14,410-foot peak in 2016, the latest figures available. About half successfully summit.
At Mount Rainier National Park, there are 12 to 14 climbing rangers. During the peak climbing season that begins in mid-May, there are seven rangers at any given time on the upper mountain.
Mount St. Helens, which is also visible from Portland on a clear day, also caps the number of people who can climb it on a given day.
In Alaska, climbers attempting to scale Denali, North America’s tallest mountain at 20,310 feet , must register at least 60 days in advance and attend an orientation that lasts one to two hours, said National Park Service spokeswoman Maureen Gualtieri in Talkeetna, Alaska.
On registration forms, parties list their expertise or comparable wilderness experience, such as glacier travel and wilderness first aid. Mountaineering rangers review applications, and if teams appear to lack experience, rangers speak to them about other training they might consider or other peaks to climb to gain experience. But there’s no “screen-out” based on experience or skills, Gualtieri said.
The most popular route to the top of California’s 14,505-foot Mount Whitney, highest peak in the contiguous United States, is a 10½-mile trail starting above the town of Lone Pine. For most of the May-through-October hiking season, specialized gear is not required. All hikers, including day hikers, must hold a permit. For each day, 100 day use permits and 60 overnight permits are awarded by a lottery that opens on Feb. 1.
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Associated Press Writers Phuong Le in Seattle and Dan Joling in Anchorage contributed to this report.
