MT HOOD, Ore. — On Saturday, volunteers with Portland Mountain Rescue responded to the fourth rescue call on Mount Hood in the span of a week when a climber fell and slid roughly 1,000 feet down the mountain.
PMR posted on Facebook that a group had hiked up to the Hogsback and one of the climbers fell on the way down. The group was wearing inappropriate footwear for climbing and appeared to be unaware of the dangerous conditions in the mountain.
"Folks, the surface above treeline is wind-scoured chicken heads, dinner plates and hard frozen sun cups. It is not skiable, not hike-able and extremely dangerous," PMR wrote in the post. "Stay off it unless you are prepared with the skills and equipment for those conditions. Be safe out there!"
There were several rescues on the mountain over the last week: a climber called for help from the summit and reported his equipment was failing and he couldn't get down; another climber fell into a fumarole while trying to snowboard down the mountain.
Paige Baugher with Portland Mountain Rescue said regardless of skill level — and even if the weather seems nice — winter is not the best time of the year to try to summit the mountain.
“There is less daylight, there is less solar radiation on the snow and the snow doesn’t get soft, it stays hard and really icy,” said Baugher.
The best time for climbing is in the spring, Baugher said, because the mountain has more snow and the slopes aren't as steep.
"Traditionally springtime has been more of what we consider to be typical mountaineering season. But with a stretch of really nice weather, over the past couple years especially we've been seeing really long stretches of nice weather in the wintertime, it lures people out to try to climb the mountain," Baugher said.
In many cases, climbers who run into trouble are unprepared for the climb and lack the proper experience. Nearly 10,000 people attempt to summit Mount Hood every year. Climbers are not required to secure permits or travel with a guide, and rescue groups say there is often a misconception that it is a climb suitable for amateurs. Baugher said that climbers should be properly trained in mountaineering before they attempt to climb Mount Hood.