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Hood River News Editorial
December 13, 2006
Mount Hood is our county’s sentinel, and
a truly dominant symbol of our state.
In the past four days Mount Hood seems to be speaking to us in two
voices.
Love me, it says.
Fear me, it also says.
The mountain showed two sides this weekend, one being the long-awaited
opening of Mt. Hood Meadows on Dec. 8, after the repair of Highway 35.
The joy of that occasion turned to fear when three climbers were
reported missing on Sunday.
“Long the snow has possessed the mountains,” says an anonymous
early-20th century American poem that captures the indelible truth of
our Mount Hood: it remains a wild and natural place, one which calls
for every vestige of care and preparation before approaching — in any
weather but especially in winter.
Our hearts go out to the three missing men, and their families.
Dangerous weather forced crews off the mountain Monday afternoon.
Teams resumed their search Tuesday morning. The brave and dedicated
search and rescue people hold hope for the climbers’ welfare — so we
do, too.
Renewed thanks go out to the rescue workers. Search officials pulled
them off the mountain Monday when conditions threatened the crews’ own
lives. In hostile weather the rescuers carried backpacks of gear in
preparation for carrying out the three men. With Tuesday’s renewed
search, the burden the rescuers bear also includes the knowledge that
one of the missing men was injured and all three were not equipped for
blizzard conditions.
Snow and cold defines Mount Hood, and possesses it, despite any
playful or benign perspective we have on that beautiful place. |
