Climber survives fall down icy slope on Mount Hood

MOUNT HOOD, Ore. – A climber survived a fall down an icy slope on the Hogsback area of Mount Hood on Thursday morning.

Sgt. Adam Phillips with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said the climber is 52-year-old Gary Morgan. He was apparently on a solo climb when he slipped and slid about 400 to 500 feet down an icy face.

Two witnesses said Morgan was sliding very fast and at one point was launched across a crevasse. He stopped when his legs hit the ice on the other side, breaking the slide.

Morgan suffered a serious injury to his hip and leg, as well as some other smaller injuries, Phillips said.

Clackamas County dispatchers first got a 911 call about the fall just before 9:30 a.m.

Video from KATU-TV, which  is KOMO'S sister station in Portland, Ore., showed people sitting near Morgan as they waited for a rescue. He was wrapped up in a thermal blanket to stay warm.

Rescue teams from Portland Mountain Rescue were in the area guiding the family of Mark Cartier for a memorial service.

Cartier was the experienced climber who fell 1,000 feet to his death in the same area last week.

Rescuers were able to quickly reach Morgan and offer him help.

Morgan will be carried out to a snow vehicle near the Palmer Ski Lift and brought down the mountain. Rescue crews hope to have him off the mountain by 3 p.m.