Fallen, injured climber rescued on Mount Hood

A Portland man seriously injured in a fall on Mount Hood was rescued Saturday in a ground and air effort made more challenging by winds gusting to nearly 60 mph, officials said.

The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office got a report shortly after 10 a.m. that the 35-year-old man, whose name has not been released, had fallen near the Hogsback area of the 11,250-foot peak.

A team of volunteer climbers with Portland Mountain Rescue made contact about an hour later with the climber, reporting he ws in serious but stable condition.

An Oregon Army National Guard Medic Air Evacuation Unit responded to the scene around 2:30 p.m., but due to the winds was unable to reach the patient, deputies said. Two hours later, it was able to drop a National Guard medic on the mountain. The helicopter crew returned to Portland to refuel, returning shortly after 6 p.m.

Due to the high winds and dangerous flying conditions, a rescue crew brought the man to the Timberline Lodge parking lot, where the helicopter was standing by to take him to a Portland-area hospital.

Also involved in the effort was American Medical Response Reach and Treat, the Hood River Crag Rats and Mountain Wave Search and Rescue.