A climber died over the weekend after falling about 300 feet on Mount Hood in Oregon, authorities said.
According to a Facebook
statement, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team responded Sunday morning at around 9:45 a.m. to a 911 call that someone had fallen while climbing the snow-capped volcano, situated in the Cascade Range about 50 miles east of Portland.
Witnesses reported seeing the climber fall near Devil's Kitchen, a steep basin perched on Mount Hood's south side at roughly 10,000 feet in elevation.
"Sheriff’s Office [search and rescue] coordinators requested assistance from Portland Mountain Rescue and American Medical Response’s Reach and Treat Team," officials said. "Upon reaching the climber, rescuers found the individual deceased and began recovery operations."
Officials have not yet released the climber's identity and said they will do so once the victim's family has been properly notified.
NTD reached out to the sheriff's department for additional information but a response was not received by publication time.
Standing at more than 11,000 feet, Mount Hood is the tallest mountain in Oregon.
Approximately 10,000 people attempt to climb the mountain each year, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The agency
notes that many visitors have little or no mountaineering experience. Anyone climbing above 9,500 feet must obtain a climbing permit, which helps fund climbing safety education, rescue coordination, sanitation improvements, and infrastructure improvements.
Dozens of fatalities have been
reported on Mount Hood—one of the deadliest peaks in America—over the last two decades.
In November 2024, 33-year-old James Robert MacDonald of Ridgefield, Washington, was
found dead near Mount Hood's Hidden Lake Trail.
Robert Tveite, a 38-year-old resident of Portland,
died in January 2025 while climbing in the Cooper Spur Trail area.
That December, a 26-year-old Bend resident named Matthew Aldridge went
missing while climbing the challenging peak. Recovery operations to locate his body were later suspended due to unsafe conditions.
Portland Mountain Rescue previously noted that Mount Hood isn't a beginner mountain to climb, especially during the winter months.
"The short days and lower temperatures mean that the snow tends to be very hard and icy, and the route conditions tend to be much steeper and technical. Also descending the mountain in icy conditions is much more difficult than ascending," the volunteer search and rescue organization
shared.
"Only those with expert mountaineering and ice climbing skills should attempt Mt. Hood in winter, especially when there have been long dry spells with no precipitation. Appropriate and thorough training is critical."
