Climber's death on popular Oregon peak underscores dangers

Oregon's tallest peak rises above the streets of downtown Portland, its gorgeous snow-capped slopes luring 10,000 climbers a year.

The picture postcard view of Mount Hood makes it one of the most visited snow-capped peaks in the U.S., a destination to check off during any respectable visit to the City of Roses.

In this Dec. 20, 2006, file photo, a piper cub airplane with Hood River County officials in it flies past the steep, rocky slopes of Mount Hood, Ore., in search of two missing climbers. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

"It just stands there and calls to you — and during clear weather like we've had the past couple of days, that mountain is there calling to anyone who's ever thought about climbing it," said Mark Morford, spokesman for Portland Mountain Rescue.

In this Dec. 14, 2009, file photo, a large cloud caps Mount Hood where the search for two missing climbers continues as seen from Timberline Lodge in Government Camp, Ore. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

But Mount Hood's accessibility and beauty obscure a treacherous history that once again came into focus Tuesday, when one man plummeted 1,000 (305 meters) feet to his death and three more were stranded on its icy slopes as a storm approached.

More than 130 climbers have died trying to reach the top of the dormant volcano, including a party of school children and teachers who froze to death in 1986 and several climbers whose bodies haven't been found.

FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2006, file photo, rescuers start their ascent from 8500 feet to the summit of Mount Hood in search of three missing climbers near Government Camp, Ore., above Timberline Lodge. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

Compounding the difficulty Tuesday's rescue was the fact that for at least several hours, officials weren't sure exactly how many people remained on Mount Hood. At one point, they said they could be looking for anywhere between seven and 15.

Unlike rules in place for climbing some other iconic peaks in the West and Alaska, there is no registration requirement to scale Mount Hood. And no one monitors the skill level or preparedness of those attempting ascents. There is also no limit on how many can summit the 11,240-foot (3,429-meter) mountain daily.

Oregon's Mount Hood is seen from Timberline Lodge on the south side of the mountain, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. Authorities say a climber who fell up to 1,000 feet (305 meters) and was airlifted off Mount Hood has died. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

That honor system and the peak's proximity to a major city can combine for a chaotic climbing environment on a mountain that's home to 11 active glaciers and deep crevasses, and prone to avalanches and erratic weather.

It takes only 90 minutes to drive from Portland to Timberline Lodge, where climbers can park in a lot only 5,000 feet (1,525 meters) below the summit. Properly prepared climbers in good shape can complete the climb and return to Portland for dinner.

"There's a bunch of warning signs in here but if someone says, 'Hey, I'm on vacation in Oregon and I've never climbed a mountain before and I want to climb Mount Hood,' there's nothing keeping them from doing it," said Sgt. Brian Jensen, spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department.

A rescue helicopter and ground teams attempt to reach stranded climbers on Mount Hood in Oregon on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. Rescuers scrambled up Oregon's tallest peak Tuesday after a climber fell several hundred feet and several others were stranded, authorities said. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP)

Sheriff's officials on Wednesday identified the dead climber as Miha Sumi, 35, of Portland and said he and his group had "mid-level experience" and were properly equipped with ice axes, crampons and helmets.

Other climbers not in Sumi's party reached him and found him bleeding from the ears with fading vital signs. They performed CPR for 90 minutes before a helicopter could airlift Sumi.

Jennifer Wade, recreation and lands program manager for the Mount Hood National Forest, said in response to an email Wednesday that the mountain does not have a "check-in, check-out" system and that rescues are only triggered by 911 calls. Mountaineering clubs offer training, but there are no requirements for scaling the peak, she said.

In this Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, photo, Scott Schoenborn, of West Linn, Ore., checks off his climbing register form at Timberline Lodge in Government Camp, Ore., after climbing Mount Hood. A fatality and an hours-long rescue effort to bring other climbers off Oregon's tallest peak as a storm approached Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, underscore the dangers of a mountain that's soared in popularity due to its proximity to Portland. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

Accidents like Tuesday's periodically stir debate about whether Mount Hood should have a permit system, Morford said. Climbers obtain wilderness permits and are encouraged to fill out forms listing planned routes and the equipment they have. But it's not mandatory and many don't do it, he said.

That's different from the approach on some other peaks in the West.

While there's no limit on the number of people who can climb Mount Rainier each day, there are limits to how many people who can camp nightly in specific zones. Most people take at least two days to climb that peak.

Nearly 11,000 people registered to climb the tallest peak in Washington state at 14,410 feet (4,362 meters) in 2016, the latest figures available.

At Mount Rainier National Park, there are 12 to 14 climbing rangers, some seasonal. During the peak climbing season that begins in mid-May, there are seven rangers at any given time on the upper mountain, said Stefan Lofgren, climbing program ranger.

Mount St. Helens, which is also visible from Portland on clear days, requires permits for those going above 4,800 feet (1,463 meters). During the summer, permits must be purchased in advance for the 8,328-foot (2,538-meter) volcano.

In Alaska, climbers attempting to scale Denali, North America's tallest mountain at 20,310 feet (6,190 meters), must register at least 60 days in advance and attend an orientation, said National Park Service spokeswoman Maureen Gualtieri.

Climbing parties on registration form list expertise or comparable wilderness experience. Mountaineering rangers review applications, and if teams appear to lack experience, rangers speak to them about other training they might consider. But there's no "screen-out" based on experience or skills, Gualtieri said.

There are 12 to 16 people on the Denali from 7,000 to 17,000 feet (2,134 to 5,182 meters) ready to help climbers in trouble, she added.

Mount Hood is much smaller, but veteran climbers like Scott Schoenborn don't take an ascent lightly.

Schoenborn, 53, always fills out the information forms before departing, even though they're not mandatory.

"Mount Hood's killed a lot of people and when I take new climbers up, the first thing I do is I tell them to go to Wikipedia on 'deaths on Mount Hood' and start reading so that they know it's a serious mountain and to take it seriously," he said, as he rested with his ice pick still strapped to his back.

Schoenborn added: "You need to be trained (and) you need to go with someone who's experienced."

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Nike co-founder Phil Knight said Wednesday he is not interested in buying the Portland Trail Blazers, who are up for sale.

Paul Allen’s estate said Tuesday it has begun the process of finding a new owner for the team. Allen, the billionaire cofounder of Microsoft who died in 2018, stipulated the eventual sale of his sports properties in his will.

There was speculation Knight, the chairman emeritus of Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike Inc., might step in to buy the Blazers because he had expressed interest a few years back.

“Five years ago, when I was a younger man, I had a great interest in being a part of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. However, at my current age, I can confirm that I no longer have interest in acquiring the team," Knight said in a statement via Nike.

Allen owned the Trail Blazers, the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and a stake in Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders before his death at age 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Since then, his sister, Jody Allen, has served as chair of the Blazers and the Seahawks and trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust.

Allen’s estate said in its announcement that the sale of the Blazers is consistent with Allen’s “directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy.” Neither the Seahawks nor the Sounders are currently for sale.

Jody Allen reportedly rebuffed Knight’s offer to buy the Blazers for more than $2 billion in 2022. At that time, there were no ongoing discussions about the sale of the teams, she said in a rare statement.

“A time will come when that changes given Paul’s plans to dedicate the vast majority of his wealth to philanthropy, but estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down,” she said. “There is no pre-ordained timeline by which the teams must be sold.”

The estate has hired the New York investment firm Allen & Company and the law firm Hogan Lovells to lead the sales process, which is expected to continue into the next NBA season.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden on Wednesday wrote NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, urging the NBA to make sure the Blazers stay in Portland, where the team has been since 1970.

He noted the team's NBA championship in 1977, and the “Blazermania” that captured the city and made heroes out of players including Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas.

CNBC earlier this year valued the Trail Blazers at $3.65 billion. In March, the Boston Celtics sold for $6.1 billion.

The Trail Blazers finished 36-46 this season and missed out on the playoffs for the fourth straight year. They have the 11th pick in the next month’s NBA draft.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

FILE - Paul Allen, the owner of Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers, waits for the start of an NBA basketball game, April 18, 2012, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file)

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2015, file photo, Nike co-founder Phil Knight watches from the sidelines during the second half of an NCAA college football game between Oregon and Utah in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang, File)