Lost Mt Hood Hikers 1 Found Dead, 2 Still Missing RESCUE SUSPENDED
Another sad day in the outdoor world as news comes out concerning the 3 lost climbers on Mt. Hood. The 3 climbers who names have been reported as Luke T. Gullberg, 26, of Des Moines, Washington, Anthony Vietti, 24, of Longview, Washington, and Katie Nolan, 29, of Portland, Oregon. Set out on a semi technical route at 1AM Friday December 11 and were reported missing around 10pm that same day.
Early into the search the body of Luke T. Gullberg was found. No sign of the other two missing hikers has been found. Unfortunately the rescue effort has been delayed by nasty weather and substantial avalanche danger. Rescuers had planned on resuming the search this morning, should the weather cooperate.
Courtesy of CCSO
The body of Luke Gullberg, left, was found Saturday morning on Mount Hood. His climbing companions, Katie Nolan, center, and Antony Vietti, still have not been found.
Mt. Hood is no stranger to danger with over 130 reported deaths on the mountain since records started being kept. All the hikers were reported to be experienced and well prepared but with the avy danger as well as the poor weather sometimes there is nothing more you can do. I’ll update this more as it breaks.
UPDATE: As of 15 Dec 2009 11:30MST no further info..
UPDATE: As of 16 Dec 2009 08:00MST Rescue has been suspended. In the last few days more than 15 inches of snow has fallen and avalanches are dropping all over the mountain. Gullberg died from hypothermia. Given the length of time the remaining hikers have been exposed to the elements in all probability they have died as well, however they were healthy young and well prepared, let us hope they survive and take this as a lesson in the true natuer of chance.
