Climber rescued after being pinned under 16,000-pound boulder

MOUNT HOOD, Ore. (KATU) — A climber pinned beneath a massive boulder near Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood was rescued Sunday morning after a multiagency effort that included technical rescuers, air medical crews and a specialized surgical team.

Clackamas Fire gave their account of the rescue and provided more pictures, including a photo of the boulder.

On Sunday, May 24, around 10:20 a.m., Clackamas Fire’s Technical Rescue Team responded to a mutual aid request from Hoodland Fire to help rescue an injured climber. Squad 319, Heavy Rescue 305, Truck 316 and Battalion Chief 301 responded to Timberline Lodge and proceeded on foot and via snow cat to reach the patient.

Rescuers found the climber pinned under a boulder estimated to weigh 16,000 pounds. The boulder fell during a minor rockslide, and a large crowd of bystanders tried to help, but the boulder could not be moved.

A climber pinned beneath a massive boulder near Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood was rescued Sunday morning. Clackamas Fire gave their account of the rescue and provided more pictures, including a photo of the boulder/Clackamas Fire Dist. photos

Clackamas Fire leaders established unified command with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and Hoodland Fire. The climber was conscious and able to communicate, but the circumstances and potential severity of the injuries prompted a more complex response.

As rescuers built a system to lift the boulder, others contacted LifeFlight and OHSU to activate a specialized field surgical team. LifeFlight dispatched an aircraft to the scene and sent a second helicopter to the landing pad at OHSU. Physicians and surgeons at OHSU assembled medical equipment and loaded it onto a LifeFlight helicopter.

At about 12:30 p.m., as the second helicopter circled the scene to land, the Technical Rescue Team freed the climber and moved the injured person to the first helicopter for transport to an area hospital.

The climber is being treated at a nearby hospital and is expected to recover.

Agencies involved included Clackamas Fire, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Hoodland Fire, Timberline Lodge and Mt. Hood Ski Patrol, Life Flight Network, OHSU, Portland Mountain Rescue, PNW Search and Rescue, and the Hood River Crag Rats.

Clackamas Fire said its Technical Rescue Team is an Urban Search and Rescue task force that is mission-ready and equipped for rapid deployment through the national mutual aid system.