Stranded, Inadequate Equipment, Darkness, Inexperience — Oregon, Columbia River Gorge

Publication Year: 1983.

STRANDED, INADEQUATE EQUIPMENT, DARKNESS, INEXPERIENCE

Oregon, Columbia River Gorge

At noon on April 19, 1982, Brad Philips (18) and Justin Cramer (17) began their attempt of Beacon Rock. They had been rained out on Saturday and Sunday.

Using a 30-meter rope, they were on the fourth or fifth pitch of the 280-meter promontory when the climb ended. According to Philips, “We couldn’t go down because the rope wasn’t long enough to rappel. We couldn’t climb up because it was dark and too dangerous—we couldn’t see where our handholds and footholds were.”

They waited on the climb while Philips’ brother, Wade, who was on the ground at Beacon Rock, notified the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office in Stevenson at 2123.

Dispatcher David O’Brien said that Philips and Cramer were “approximately three fourths of the way up. They were not well equipped, had no flashlight, were not dressed for the cold, had just a small bit of water and food.”

“The rescue was not routine,” said Captain John Baczuk of the 304th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. “It was nighttime, which is always kind of fun, and upwards of 40-knot winds in the gorge, which makes it kind of tricky hovering the helicopter. Our guy on the ground was blown into the rocks a couple of times when he was on the hoist.” He was not injured. The rescue was completed by 0300. (Source: The Oregonian, April 21, 1982)

Analysis

The number of rescue missions in this area is increasing. Skamania County Sheriff Bill Closner made the following comments regarding the problem:

The problem is, even though the mountaineering community wishes not to be regulated—and I appreciate the position—the search and rescue problems have increased to a point where the volunteer community can’t cover the amount of rescue missions going on.”

The sheriff said that he has called on mountain search and rescue units from Bremerton, Seattle, Tacoma and Portland, as well as the Alpinees and Crag Rats in Hood River, to assist in rescues.

Although signs forbid the public from climbing the north face of Beacon Rock, that doesn’t always stop the venturesome. However, according to Closner, most of the rescues have been on the south face of the rock, above the Columbia River. The south face, which is exposed to the Columbia Gorge winds, also looms above the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks.

“I know governments shouldn’t try to control everybody’s actions, but there comes a point where the burnout is pretty evident,” Closner said. “There are enough hazards to it as an attraction with just the trail to climb that we don’t need that added attraction,” Closner said.

“The problem is that Beacon Rock has been a climbing rock to both inexperienced and experienced people; there’s no standard as to who is allowed to go and who is not. It’s a little hard to make a decision as to who ought to be qualified to climb, he said. (Source: The Oregonian, April 30, 1982)