Lost climber from Sunriver rescued on Mount Hood

Called 911 for help amid whiteout conditions; treated for hypothermia

TIMBERLINE LODGE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 31-year-old climber from Sunriver called 911 for help after getting lost on Mount Hood in whiteout conditions late Friday and was rescued in an all-night operation, treated for hypothermia and taken to a Portland-area hospital, authorities said.

Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue coordinators were notified just after 7:30 p.m. Friday of a male climber lost on Mount Hood, Sgt. Marcus Mendoza said. The first information came from a friend of Nikolas David Larson, who had been in touch with him by text message.

A short time later, Larson called 911 for help, telling dispatchers he’d reached the 11,250-foot summit of Oregon’s tallest mountain earlier in the day, but was now lost in whiteout conditions. Mendoza said Larson told dispatchers he had a few protein bars but no water, and after communicating with friends, his cellphone battery was down to 2%.

SAR coordinators called out Portland Mountain Rescue, the Hood River Crag Rats and Mountain Wave to assist.

The first team of searchers assembled and left from Timberline Lodge around 11 p.m. by Sno-Cat, Mendoza said. When they reached the top of the Palmer chairlift, they set off on foot to find Larson.

The rescue team reached Larson around 2 a.m. Saturday, at 6,200 feet elevation on the west side of the mountain, just above Split Rock and just south of Paradise Park, the sergeant said.

Rescuers found Larson was hypothermic and began first aid while preparing him to be moved. A second mountain rescue team arrived in the area around 5 a.m. to assist.

Initially, a helicopter was requested from the Oregon Army National Guard, through the Oregon office of Emergency Management, but eventually it was decided the helicopter would not be used, as rescuers on scene had the needed medical expertise.

In addition, military rescue helicopters currently undergo extensive decontamination after each deployment, they noted. Also, there were more than 200 climbers on Mount Hood Saturday, “putting additional pressure on SAR resources,” Mendoza said in a news release Saturday afternoon.

Instead, American Medical Responses “Reach and Treat” team and Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue were called in to assist in the evacuation. Larson was brought down by rescuers to Kiwanis Camp Road, near Government Camp, and an AMR ambulance took him to an area hospital.

A total of about 30 rescuers took part in the operation, as well as sheriff’s office detectives who helped determine Larson’s location by analyzing cellphone data, Larson said.