Reach and Treat Team Assist with Successful Mountain Rescue
June 8, 2020
A climber, lost on Mt. Hood in whiteout conditions, needed immediate help.
On May 22, AMR M276, Gabe Cavanaugh and Suzanne Bolzenius, received the Reach and Treat Team activation at Timberline, thirty minutes before the end of their shift. A climber was lost on Mt. Hood in whiteout conditions.
The climber was able to give dispatch the coordinates, and then dug a shelter, while battling the heavy sleeting rain.
Cavanaugh and Bolzenius went en route as nearly 30 other rescuers from Portland Mountain Rescue, Hood River Crag Rats, Mountain Wave Search & Rescue, and Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue responded. AMR’s crew hiked up the mountain to reach the severely hypothermic patient who had been on the mountain overnight—with no water and little food. Their incredible effort resulted in a successful rescue and resuscitation.
“The next thing I know…or can remember was being on a Stokes basket being carried through the woods,” said the climber. “I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for their courageous professionalism and unsurpassed medical care.”
The climber was able to give dispatch the coordinates, and then dug a shelter, while battling the heavy sleeting rain.
Cavanaugh and Bolzenius went en route as nearly 30 other rescuers from Portland Mountain Rescue, Hood River Crag Rats, Mountain Wave Search & Rescue, and Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue responded. AMR’s crew hiked up the mountain to reach the severely hypothermic patient who had been on the mountain overnight—with no water and little food. Their incredible effort resulted in a successful rescue and resuscitation.
“The next thing I know…or can remember was being on a Stokes basket being carried through the woods,” said the climber. “I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for their courageous professionalism and unsurpassed medical care.”
- Watch the media coverage of this amazing rescue.
