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Hood River News Editorial
February 21, 2007
A sense of déjà vu hung around Mount
Hood with the brief and successful search for three climbers on the
peak’s south side.
Hood River and Clackamas county searchers were able to quickly
triangulate the whereabouts of the stranded trio: Christine Redl, 26,
Kate Hanlon, 34, and Matt Bryant, 34, and faithful black Labrador,
Velvet, who had fallen off a ledge into the White River Canyon on
Sunday. Each of the climbers was wearing a radio beacon locator so
that their position at the 7,300-foot elevation of White River Canyon
could be pinpointed.
Searchers were able to find the climbers, despite bad weather, and it
was electronic Mt. Hood Locator Units (MLUs) that “made all of the
difference in the outcome of this search,” said Hood River County
Sheriff Joe Wampler (for details click on
Mountain searchers trace radio signals).
On Tuesday, Wampler was headed for the Oregon Capitol to advocate for
proposed legislation that would require use of MLUs.
We respect the point of view of the sheriff, whose experience with
mountain rescues included the gallant efforts in December to find the
three people who perished on the mountain’s north side.
Other rescue veterans argue, however, that the locators’ effectiveness
has yet to be proven. Crag Rat Todd Wells was quoted in the Oregonian
newspaper as saying the devices “give people a false sense of
security.”
It may be too early to make the MLUs mandatory, but there would also
be little harm in doing so. Vendors who rent the units are already
reporting a rise in popularity; they are available at locations in
Clackamas and Multnomah counties, including Government Camp. Whether
voluntary or mandatory, what should happen next is to make them widely
available in Parkdale and Hood River.
All it takes is for one party of climbers to rent the units, and that
is one more tragedy that will likely be averted, keeping that Mount
Hood déjà vu just a state of mind. |
