According to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Dani Rudinsky, 23, of Colorado, injured her ankle when caught in a small avalanche. Avalanche danger is high on Mount Hood due to 10 inches of snowfall and warming temperatures. Officials estimate more than 200 climbers were on Mount Hood Saturday.
Experienced climbers, Rudinsky and her climbing partner were able to send a distress call with a satellite-communication device that helped search and rescue coordinators to determine Rudinsky’s location.
Twenty-six rescuers were involved with the mission, including members of Portland Mountain Rescue, the Hood River Crag Rats, Mountain Waive, CCSO SAR, American Medical Response’s Reach and Treat Team, and SAR Coordinators from the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office. Rudinsky was safely transferred to Timberline Lodge at 9:30 p.m.
That was the second rescue mission conducted on Mount Hood Saturday, following the rescue of a climber just hours earlier: Nicolas David Larson, 31, of Sunriver. Larson said he reached the summit of Mount Hood on Friday, but became lost in whiteout conditions. The lost climber was able to text a friend and call 911 before his phone died. Larson was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of hypothermia.
Between the two rescue operations, search and rescue teams worked on the mountain for nearly 23 hours straight.
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