Fallen, injured Bend climber rescued on Mt. Jefferson

A 64-year-old Bend climber who fell on the west side of Mount Jefferson and suffered a leg injury as he descended from the summit was rescued over the weekend, Linn County sheriff’s deputies said Monday night.

Undersheriff Paul Timm said the agency received a call shortly after 7 p.m. Friday that a climber was injured on the west side of the 10,495-foot peak.

Timm said preliminary information indicated that Jonathan Sprecher of Bend was descending Mount Jefferson after a successful summit attempt and fell in the area of the Milk Creek Glacier.

At the time of the report, it was believed that although Sprecher hurt his leg, he and climbing partner, Samual Lowry of Redmond, had plenty of food and water and were slowly working their way down the mountain.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office sent Search and Rescue teams to make contact with the injured climber early Saturday morning.

Around 5 p.m. Saturday, deputies finally reached Lowry and learned Sprecher was another 1,100 feet up the mountain, as he was unable to put any weight on his leg to continue down.

About an hour later, a helicopter from the Oregon National Guard assisted in hoisting Sprecher from the mountain to a spot where he could be transported to Salem Hospital for treatment.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by Corvallis Mountain Rescue, Oregon Army National Guard, Linn County Mounted Posse and Linn County Amateur Radio.