Portland Mountain Rescue rescued two injured climbers Saturday after they fell while climbing Mount Hood in Oregon.
Around 11 a.m. Clackamas County dispatch received a call about two people who were injured after falling, according to Omaha.com. Three climber had fallen, but only two suffered injuries. The woman climber has two broken ankles and the man climber might have a broken femur, Deputy Ben Frazier said. The third climber, another man, was able to make it down the mountain with some help.
An Oregon National Guard helicopter airlifted the climbers to a Portland hospital after a team from the Portland Mountain Rescue saved the climbers, USA Today reported. The team was training on the mountain Saturday morning when the call came in.
"Anytime we don't have to call out people from the whole Portland metro area and they are already out there training, they are a huge asset for us," sheriff's Deputy Mark Nikolai said. "They're up there training, they've got the skills, they've got the utilities wherever they need."
The paramedic team reached the injured climbers before 2 p.m. as did the Clackamas County Search and Rescue teams. The National Guard helicopter arrived around 4 p.m. Authorities did not release the names of the climbers.
The three climbers fell early Saturday in an area on the mountain known as the Hogsback, Omaha.com reported. The side of the mountain is popular for climbing. Frazier said he did not know what caused them to fall because the weather conditions near the mountain were good Saturday with clear skies and sun. Hogsback is a snow ridge at about 10,000 feet elevated.
