Saturday morning members of Portland Mountain Rescue started searching for three climbers missing on Mount Hood. It was a little eery given what was happening up there exactly three years ago. That's the climbing tragedy with the three climbers from New York and Texas that inspired me to write Rescued by the Magic of Christmas.
On the climbing forum I belong to was a post from the brother of one of the missing climbers asking if anyone had seen a party of three on the Sandy Headwall. One poster said he thought he saw a group of three leaving the parking lot.
The situation reminded me of the prologue I wrote for my book except that accident happened on the Reid Headwall. Saturday was a busy day, but I kept checking for updates praying for a much happier ending then the one I wrote about.
Unfortunately they found Luke Gullberg's body (the missing brother) on Saturday. Pictures from a camera found near him showed they were climbing the Reid Headwall. Luke was also a member of the climbing forum. From his trip reports, he seemed like a really great guy who loved to be active and outdoors in the mountains. Prayers to him, his family and friends.
The two other climbers are still missing. My prayers go out to Katie Nolan and Anthony Vietti, their families and friends and all the rescuers. Avalanche conditions are keeping the rescuers off the mountain, but there may be a break in the weather today to allow aircraft up like yesterday.
Three friends out for a one day climb and a good time shouldn't end up this way. I'm sure hoping they find them.
If you want to know more, the Oregonian has a good write-up with information about all three climbers. You'll find it here.
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