I guess they found one cold - sounds like probably the one that was hurt. No old bold mountain climbers :(

Katie Couric is an IDIOT , she mentioned on national news just minutes ago that Kelly James had a wife and four children and then preceded to ask, "How do you think they are doing"? This was after the network had coverage of his body recovery mission.

How the fuch do you think they are doing you stupid bltch???

Doing a technical climb in the winter, when the BEST rescue teams won't be able to probably reach you is just plain irresponsible to their wives and kids.

Katy Couric is one of the worst people on the planet. I wouldn't piss on her if she was on fire. That's the same question she asks everyone after a tragedy.

" Oh hi Katie! Thanks for calling. We are doing just wonderful you moronic wooden talking head biotch!"

Is it true that the audience share of the See-BS nightly liberal views has fallen since miss not so perky took over?

I agree Hugh.
I did 2 winter climbs on Rainier, which my wife was not the least bit happy about. Was so pissed she didnt talk to me for over a week( not that thats a bad thing).

I just think there should be some kind of mandatory insurance for folks who do this stuff. It's bad enough that the rescuers are often volunteers or that the taxpayers pick up the tab. But it's really bad that they have to risk their lives to rescue idiots who made bad decisions. If a lifeguard or town can close a beach, why can't they ban climbing in winter conditions? I would never think signing a waiver would ever hold up. If there were such a waiver that said you WILL NOT be rescued if you get stuck and if someone signed it and got killed when they could have been rescued, you know the lawsuit would be huge and such waivers would disappear.

Oh, and Katie Couric is an idiot too.

I've climbed Hood 3 times, (I grew up in Parkdale that they are basing the rescue op out of).

I never did a winter climb on Hood cause this kind of sillyness happens every 3 years.

It has been non stop coverage for over a week now. Can't we move on???

Actually, I think Oregon has a law requiring compensation for this type of rescue, of course, just try to collect after a fatality such as this. The whole thing is very unfortunate, the only good to come from this is that no rescuers have been lost or injured, hopefully it will stay that way.

Id much prefer the media dedicate coverage to this, rather than the wedding or childbirth/adoption of some idiotic Hollywood entertainer.

You mean like tha waiver that boaters sign that keeps the Coast Guard from having to rescue them when they're in trouble.....Oh wait....

Bad arguement Rick.

I didn't know there was a waiver for boaters to sign. But it probably a lot harder to patrol all the waterways than a few mountain trail entrances. Is Mt. Hood a state or national park? Even so, I'm all for people signing a waiver if they decide to go out in bad weather, against all advisories. Why should anyone risk their as$ to save adventurers like that? I'm not talking about fishermen or cargo ships or people who are out there when it gets bad. But when you know it's gonna be bad out there and decide to go, you need to be responsible for your actions and no one should have to risk their own life to save you.

There isn't - it was an exaggeration. Here's another. Should we make people who drive too fast in bad weather sign a waiver that ambulances, police, won't respond to the scene of the wreck?

no doubt about it, winter mountaineering is a risky sport . I had felt the pull of it as a young man and have some regret over not being able to challenge the big peaks. If a park area establishes a rescue team then people will expect to be rescued. I for one accepted the risk I took when I went into the mountains or even just the deep woods in winter.

Many of us here on this page are gear heads that enjoy high performance machines. Even when we go to the track we are taking a risk others deem unacceptable. Winter mountaineering may not appeal to you, but to those of us who are subject to its allure are no different than those who are enamored of high speed performance machines.

Since the number of people who do that is exponentially larger than the number of people who go winter mountaineering, I'd say that would be a tough one to enforce. But I do believe we should be able to ride motorcycles or drive without helmets or seatbelts if we sign a waiver that no one but ourselves or our own insurance will be paying for the damages caused by not wearing that stuff.

The media is ONLY covering the Mt Hood mess because there are no wedding or childbirth/adoptions this week.

Something that was probably never considered with the timeline of this climb was if something went wrong... like an injury.
With a small window of good weather, an injury to one climber looks like it may have sealed the fate of all three.

So much for their depth of experience, such a waste of life. If they had only done a little more planning, or perhaps they did and just said WTF, it's only a two day hike.

Don't mean to sound so cynical, it all just seems so unnecessary considering what was at stake.