The UNTHINKABLE 1986 MT. HOOD Disaster - KIDS Pressured NOT TO TURN BACK In The Face of a STORM...

In May of 1986, a group of Portland, Oregon High School students along with 5 adults set off in an attempt to climb Mount Hood as part of an adventure program required by the school. The weather forecast did not look promising, but the expedition went on as planned. Sadly, deteriorating conditions and questionable decisions led the deadliest and most senseless disaster in the history of the mountain.

At 11,249 feet, Mount Hood, an active stratovolcano, stands as the tallest mountain the state of Oregon and is a popular destination for climbers, attracting about 10,000 climbers per year. Although it lacks the deadly elevation of mountains like K2 and Everest, technical climbing skills are still required. Mountaineering gear like ice axes, ropes and crampons are needed and many of the major obstacles on the tallest mountains in the world such as crevasses, falling rocks and of course, deteriorating weather, are present on Mount Hood. Each year, around 25-50 people need to be rescued from the mountain and over the years, many have lost their lives. Falls and hypothermia are the main causes of death on the mountain. The first known fatality goes all the way back to 1896 when Frederic Kirn attempted to reach the summit alone. He died after a 40-foot fall caused by an avalanche.

Thomas Goman

However, the most tragic day in the history of Mount Hood occurred much more recently. During a late evening on May 11th, 1986, a group of 15 High School students met up at the campus of Episcopal High School to prepare to set off an a great adventure. They would enter the Cascade Volcanoes and climb one of its tallest mountains, Mount Hood, the tallest in the state. The students were only sophomores, but at that time, it was required through a program called Basecamp that all 10th graders take part in a challenging adventure where teamwork and problem-solving must be used to succeed.

For this group of 15 students, the challenge would be reaching the summit of Oregon’s tallest mountain. They were given some training on the techniques involved in snow climbing, such as self-arresting, using crampons, step-kicking an ascent, first-aid, etc. Now, the day had come and each student boarded a school bus which would take them to Timberline Lodge. From there, they would head off towards the mountain. Unlike some of the tallest mountains in the world in the Himalayas, the approach was not too difficult. Along with the 15 students, there were 2 staff members – Thomas Goman, a 42-year old doctor, chaplain and priest, along with Marion Horwell, the dean of residents and student affairs. Goman was an extremely intelligent experienced mountaineer who had previous experience climbing this very mountain and was well-liked and respected by the students, who would look to him for guidance. Also, one parent, Sharon Spray, was accompanying her daughter, Hilary and two more experienced climbers would serve as guides – Dee Zduniak and Ralph Summers.

So, a total of 20 individuals would be making the attempt. One of the students, a girl named Tasha Amy, was blind in one eye and only had limited vision in the one working eye. But, she was determined to take part in the expedition. One particularly small and skinny boy would also be a part of the expedition – Patrick McGiness. A 21st participant, Patrick Lamb, sprained his ankle 2 days before the trip and was not able to make the expedition. The sprain may have saved his life.

The weather forecast predicted an incoming storm that would last multiple days. That should have been all it took to postpone the expedition, but Goman believed they could reach the summit and get off the mountain before the storm hit. So, around 3 AM, the team set off from Timberline. Despite Goman’s well earned reputation as an extremely intelligent man and experienced mountaineer, there were some fellow climbers who had previously climbed with him who believed he could be overly ambitious, taking too many risks. The decision to proceed with the climb despite the weather warnings was considered by many to be reckless, as the storms of Mount Hood had a reputation of hitting very suddenly and very ferociously.

Early on in the climb, the weather seemed to be cooperating, but young Hilary Spray began to develop a stomach ache and decided she wanted to turn back. Tom Goman tried to talk to her out of it.

“I did experience pressure from the leaders to continue. Tom Goman pressured the kids. We all assumed he knew what was best. I knew that what was best for me was to turn around and leave.”

Hilary and her mother, Sharon, did the right thing that day and turned back. The remaining 18 climbers continued on, until at about 7,000 feet, another student, Lorca Smetana was having cramps. She decided to turn back, accompanied by another student, Courtney Boatsman. As the expedition continued, Ralph Summers, one of the guides, began to question the wisdom of continuing as the storm showed signs of approaching. He knew if the storm hit, they would all be in big trouble. Two more students decided to turn back. Then, at around 11:30 AM, 8 and half hours after they set off, the other guide Dee Zduniak saved her own life by also turning around. She made that decision just in time as the storm was quickly approaching. Zduniak made it off the mountain, but the remaining 13 continued on, pressed on by Goman, who thought they were too close to the summit to turn back.

However, at around 2 PM, now at about 11,000 feet, approaching the summit, the storm hit with an absolutely vengeance. At first, Goman still didn’t want to turn back, but Summers convinced him every second mattered and they had to turn back immediately. Unfortunately, it was too late and conditions deteriorated immediately. Visibility was quickly shortened to around 20 feet and the disorienting conditions caused the group to descend off course. The small boy Patrick McGinness began to slur his speech before falling over, unable to move. He was placed the only sleeping bag they had and the group tried to huddle around him, providing whatever warmth they could. Another student Susan McClave, who had some experience climbing, took off her boots and jacket to fit in the sleeping bag and try to help warm up McGinness. Summers was able to boil some water, which he gave to McGinness with some added lemon drops. After a couple hours, the group was able to continue moving, but McGinness still needed help and could not move on his own.

Mark Kelsey

The conditions made it hard to know in what direction they were going. Vertigo had set in and in the whiteout conditions, the group was moving more sideways than downwards. Visibility had decreased to about 10 feet and the winds were approaching hurricane level. Summers had every one follow his exact footsteps as the dangers of a fall were now at a maximum, with bridges of snow accumulating over empty spaces. Finally, at around 7 PM, he made the decision to construct a snow cave. It wasn’t until the early hours of the following morning that Portland Mountain Rescue – PMR – was notified that there were still people on the mountain. PMR volunteer Mark Kelsey, who had summited Fort Hood hundreds of times, described the conditions as the worst he had ever seen during a rescue operation.

“In my whole climbing career, I never got frostbite except for that day. The first day of the rescue, the winds at the top of the Palmer chair lift were 103 miles per hour.”

The severity of the storm made it impossible to know even where to look, but the rescue workers tried anyway. Meanwhile, the snow cave was too small for 13 people and only 6 were able to fit inside. They had to take turns in the but their body heat began to melt the surrounding snow. Breathing became difficult and those who had to wait outside in hurricane-level winds, were freezing to death. By Tuesday morning, the situation had not improved. Tom Goman was delirious and unable to count to 10. Summers knew they could not survive much longer and along with 17-year old Molly Schula, entered the storm to try and find help. They had no idea what direction they were going and, as it turned out, it was the complete wrong one. But luck was on their side and they ran right into Mount Hood Meadows, a ski resort on the southeastern face, 2 miles east of Timberland.

Meanwhile, the remaining 11 climbers tried to maintain the cave, but it proved impossible as snow continued to accumulate and conditions failed to improve. The storm was unrelenting and another entire day had passed before on Wednesday morning, May 14th, three bodies were found. Alison Litzenberger, Erin O’Leary and Erik Sandvic had perished and were the first three victims found.

That day, the weather had finally relented enough to allow a helicopter to help in the search and Summers went up with the pilot to assist in the search. Unfortunately, hours passed and no further bodies or survivors were found. Even Summers was having trouble locating the cave when Master Sergeant Richard Harder of the 304th recovery squadron had a hunch where it might be. He threw out a flare to mark the area he thought the search should be concentrated on. Harder had searchers move slowly down the slope, three feet apart, and with only a few minutes left before giving up the search for the day, a rescuer named Sergeant Charlie Ek came across the cave. They started digging frantically and, incredibly, heard moaning – meaning some one was still alive.

Giles Thompson and Brinton Clark were semiconscious and barely hanging onto life. The other climbers were too far gone, including Patrick McGinness and the blind and courageous Tasha Amy. The staff members, Tom Goman and Marion Horwell, also did not survive. The other victims included students Susan McClave, Richard Haeder, Erik Sandvik, Erin O’Leary and Alison Litzenberger. In total, 7 students and 2 staff members had died. Helicopters rushed the survivors to the hospital. Thompson was nowhere near out trouble and went into cardiac arrest. His chest needed to be opened and heart massaged by hand. Both legs had to be amputated and it took months before Thompson could be confirmed as an official survivor. Doctors credited his solid preparation in wearing a pair of rubber and wool pants. They didn’t save his legs but likely saved his life. Brinton Clark also survived and went on to attend Stanford then medical school in San Francisco.

In the aftermath, an official report assigned most of the blame to Goman, who pushed common sense beyond its boundaries in failing to turn back with a storm incoming. Lawsuits were filed, settlements were produced and the newspapers and media were all over the tragedy for a week or two before other news took over the headlines. Richard Haeder’s father, Richard Sr., called the expedition a “death march” and Basecamp, which has since been discontinued, a “disastrous killing program.”

The school continues to commemorate the event and honor those lost each year in May. This event was by the far the most tragic and senseless mountaineering disaster to occur involving minors in the history of North America. Although the Basecamp program makes sense in helping teach teamwork and overcoming adversity, common sense dictates that sending young students with little to no real mountaineering experience off to climb an 11,000 foot mountain on which hundreds of died is a bad idea, even if we ignore the impending storm. The only comparable disaster would be the 1971 Cairgorms disaster, which I’ve also made a video and blog on. Obviously, the powers that be at Episcopal High School either were not aware of that incident or learned nothing from it.