The Hood to Coast Run is Tomorrow

Billing itself as the "Mother of all Relays" the 29th annual Hood to Coast Relay is scheduled to take place tomorrow, with 12,000 runners gathering to take part in the event. The run begins at the Timberline Lodge, located at 6000 feet, on Mt. Hood in the state of Oregon and ends in the town of Seaside on the Pacific Coast, covering 197 miles in the process.

The Outside Blog, who tipped me off to this story, says that for the past 12 years this event has filled it's quota of 12,000 runners on the first day that registration opens, so clearly it is a fun and popular race. The teams will set off from the start line in waves, beginning at 6:30 AM and the last team won't get underway until 6:45 PM. The course is divided into 36 legs, which range in distance from 3.6 to 7.4 miles, and each member of a team is expected to run at least three of the legs. Teams consist of 8 to 12 runners, who will cover the entire course over the two days of the weekend.

Looks like a lot of fun! Check out the trailer for the Hood to Coast movie below.




Hood To Coast Movie Trailer #2 of for Race Website from HoodToCoastMovie on Vimeo.

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Mt. Hood Update: Rescue Turns To Recovery

Sad, but not entirely unexpected, news from Mt. Hood, where it was announced yesterday that rescue efforts were being abandoned for two missing climbers, as hope faded that they could be found alive. SAR teams called off efforts to locate Katie Nolan and Anthony Vietti, who have been missing since last Friday, when they, along with companion Luke Gullberg, set off to make an ascent on Hood. Gulberg's body was later found at 9000 feet on the Reid Glacier, but no sign of Nolan or Vietti has been discovered.

Weather and avalanche conditions have made it difficult for search parties to comb the mountain. Storms have hit the area hard since Monday, with more than two feet of snow dropping on the mountain. Whiteout conditions added to the challenge, and kept rescuers away from Hood for two days, while they waited in vain for the weather to break.

We have begun to learn a bit more about what happened to the trio while climbing the mountain thanks to clues found on Gullberg's body. Cell phone photos seem to indicate that there was an accident along the way and that Nolan may have been injured. It appears that while Vietti stayed behind with her, Gullberg elected to climb down the mountain to seek aid. He feel on his descent, suffering relatively minor injuries, but later succumbed to exposure.

This bring a sad ending to a story that we've all been hoping would turn out well. Lets keep the families of these climbers in our thoughts, especially as we head into the holiday season.

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Mt. Hood Update: Bad Weather Hampers Efforts

A quick note to update everyone on what's going on out in Oregon, where two climbers remain missing today, after failing to return from a summit attempt on Mt. Hood last Friday. Search and Rescue efforts have been further hampered today with the onset of inclement weather, which has resulted in whiteout conditions on the mountain.

SAR teams continued to search for Anthony Vietti and Katie Nolan yesterday, employing the use of several helicopters, but so far to no avail. Vietti and Nolan's companion Luke Gullberg was found dead on the Reed Glacier on Saturday, but there has been no sign of them as of yet. Gullberg's body was located at about 9000 feet, and search teams have been wary of going higher on the mountain due to fears of avalanches thanks to recent snowfall. More snow fell over night, and is expected to continue for some time.

For the latest update, check out the video below. Keep your fingers crossed folks. Miracles do happen as we've seen in the past.

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Search Continues For Two Missing Climbers On Mt. Hood

By now, I'm sure most of you are aware of the on going search for two missing climbers on Mt. Hood in Oregon. Early in the morning last Friday, Anthony Vietti, age 24, and Katie Nolan, 29, set out with their friend Luke T. Gullberg, 26, to climb the 11,249 foot mountain. They failed to return as scheduled on Friday afternoon, and SAR teams went into action on Saturday, discovering Gulberg's body on the Reid Glacier, located at roughly 9000 feet. There has been no trace of Vietti or Nolan however.

Search and rescue operations have been hampered by poor conditions on the mountain, which has quite a bit of snow already this season, and the chances of an avalanche are quite high at the moment. Helicopters have been brought in to aid in the search today, one of which is equipped with thermal imaging sensors. But bad weather is in the forecast, which has added an even bigger sense of urgency to the operations.

Authorities say they discovered a digital camera on Gulberg's body, and it provides some clues as to the location of his friends, but they say getting to that part of the mountain may be challenging. The trio also failed to properly fill out their climber's registration form properly, and gave conflicting reports to friends as to which route they were taking to the summit.

Lets hope the two remaining climbers are found safe and sound. Keep your fingers crossed folks!

For the latest info on the search watch the video below:

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Climbing For Kids

Steve Sergeant from The Wildebeat posted about Climbing For Kids in the comments section on the Summit For Someone post I made last week, and I've been meaning to follow up on it ever since.

Much like Summit For Someone this is another organization that organizes climbs to raise money for at-risk youth. Sponsored by Bay Area Wilderness Training the Climbing For Kids Organization will send you out some impressive climbs including Rainier, Whitney, Hood, Shasta, and even Mt. Orizaba in Mexico.

The amount of fundraising you'll have to do to join the climbs varies by each mountain, but generally falls into the $3200-$3800 range, with the exception of Orizaba, which clocks in at $7500. For your efforts, you'll get to join one heck of a great adventure and get the satisfaction of knowing that you helped raise money for underprivileged at-risk youth. Oh, and did I mention you'll also get to go home with $1500 worth of gear?

This is another great cause, and one that is well worth your time. If you were already considering one of these climbs in the near future, why not join the group? The gear alone is well worth it.

Special Thanks to Steve for sending this my way. And be sure to check out his WildeBeat Podcast. It's excellent stuff with great tips for backcountry exploration and timely topics ranging from the environment, changing policies in our national parks, and a host of others. I highly recommend it.

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Updated: Breaking News: Climbers Missing on Mt. Hood

CNN.com has breaking news that two climbers have gone missing on Mt. Hood. The two climbers, who are described as "experienced" were due back yesterday afternoon, but failed to answer calls to a cell phone and have not reported in any other way.

To make matters worse, blizzard conditions moved in early this morning, which will hamper search and rescue operations. While the pair's vehicle is still in the parking lot at the Timberline Lodge, authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the men may have left with other climbers, although it does seem a bit unlikely.

I'll post updates as they become known. Search teams were being organized to begin scouring the mountain, but it's too early to report beyond that. Keep these men and their families in your thoughts.

Update: The climbers are alive and well and making their way down the mountain. They used their cell phone to call home and let everyone know that they spend the night in a snow cave, and will be home soon. Great news!

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Climbers Stranded On Mt. Hood

The Adventurist and Blogging Mt. Hood are both reporting this morning that five climbers are stranded on Mt. Hood at about 9800 feet. Jason, over at the Adventurist, says that they are in contact with the authorities via cell phone.

The climbers also have tracking devices and GPS devices, which allows rescue teams to know where to find them, as a resuce attempt will be mounted today. The team was believed to have dug a snow cave to wait out the night on te mountain.

I'm sure we'll be hearing more on this story as the day goes along. For now, we'll just have to watch, wait, and hope for the best. More as it becomes available.

Update: The climbers on Mt. Hood have all been rescued and brought down safely. No injuries and everyone is in good health. The Adventurist has the full story.

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