Oregon, Mt. Hood—On May 16, Harry McAllister (50), his son Keith (15), and Bob Bissett (31) completed an ascent of Mt. Hood by the usual south side route. The snow in the “chute” had been softened by a bright sun by the time the party was descending. At 11:00 a.m., about two thirds of the way down the “chute,” Harry McAllister, who was low man on the rope, caught a crampon, slipped and fell, twisting his right leg under him. McAllister rolled over into a self-arrest position, stopping himself almost immediately. Suffering from a broken right ankle, he was unable to walk. Another party consisting of Amos Smelser (U.S.F.S.) and his daughter came up to give assistance. After binding both legs together in an improvised splint, the four climbers were able to lower the injured man to the crater (elev. 10,500 feet). A third party was sent down with word of the accident. Some time later two skiers came up, and an improvised toboggan was made of skis. McAllister was transported down to the Sno-Cat (elev. 9,500 ft.) which was then used to transport McAllister down to Timberline Lodge (elev. 6,000 ft.), where a splint was applied by members of the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol.

Source: D. G. Hitchcock after telephone conversation with Harry McAllister (injured climber), Amos Smelser (member of the assisting Party), Dr. George Austin (member of the third party), and Howard Veazey (member of the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol).

Analysis: Although there may be some question of the advisability of using crampons in the “chute” that particular day, McAllister feels that there was enough hard snow or ice under the soft layer of surface snow to require their use. This accident, although not serious, should again serve as a reminder to all climbers that even under good conditions and on an easy slope such as the “chute,” extreme care is required to prevent a “slip” such as caused this accident.