911 calls from Mt. Hood climbing death reveal terror, heroism

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – More than three hours of 911 calls reveal terror and heroism as fellow Mt. Hood climbers tried to save a man who plummeted 1,000 feet on Oregon’s tallest peak.

The calls were released by Clackamas County sheriff’s dispatch late Wednesday after The Associated Press made a public records request.

In one call that lasts more than 2 ½ hours, other climbers reach 35-year-old Miha Sumi and begin CPR as huge chunks of ice and rocks careen past them.

At one point, one of them asks the 911 dispatcher to take down a message for his mother in case he doesn’t survive.

Sumi was airlifted from Mt. Hood on Tuesday and pronounced dead at a Portland hospital.

Other climbers did CPR on Sumi for 90 minutes before the airlift.