Climber rescued on Mt. Washington

A mountain climber broke his ankle while descending from Mt. Washington on Saturday morning, September 20.

Nearly 30 hours after he was injured, after spending an unplanned night tied to the side of the mountain with a safety harness, Jay Avery, 46, was on his way to Corvallis for treatment of his bruises and broken bones.

A team of 41 rescuers assisted in the mission, including the Camp Sherman Hasty Team representing Jefferson County Search and Rescue, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, the Linn County Explorer Post #64, the Mount Mazama Climbing Club, the U.S. Forest Service and the Linn County Sheriff's Office Mounted Posse.

Linn County Sheriff's Office coordinated the effort.

According to a press release from Linn County, Avery fell about 10 feet while descending at about the 7,300 foot level of the mountain at about 10:30 a.m. Two of his three companions, Roy Smith and Pam Otley, both from Corvallis, continued on for help. Ellen Gradison, also of Corvallis, stayed with the injured Avery.

Smith and Otley called the Linn County Sheriff's Office from a phone at the Big Lake Trail Head at about 3 p.m.

Rescue teams gathered at the trailhead as darkness fell. According to local sources, "the Camp Sherman initial climbing team went into the field at 7:15 p.m. Saturday night in hope of a night climb to reach the victim and his partner, who were positioned in climbing harnesses and tied into the side of the mountain."

However, darkness and falling rock made it too dangerous to continue, so rescue teams from Camp Sherman and Corvallis bivouacked on the mountain and began the rescue again at dawn on Sunday morning.

Camp Sherman Hasty Team member, Kirk Metzger, free climbed a difficult stretch of Mt. Washington to reach the victim, followed by Mark Foster, Lance Piatt, Tom Haynes and Don Hundt. Corvallis Mt. Rescue participated with the victim's rescue with belay lines.

Moving the victim from the wall was difficult and dangerous because of falling rock, according to sources. It took three to four strenuous hours to move the victim across an expansive field of scree and boulders at the base of the mountain.

The Mazamas loaned ropes and equipment for the mission. Tom Landis and Scott McNitt of Camp Sherman packed heavy rescue ropes to climbing teams when explorers and horses could no longer travel on the scree slopes.

Finally, the Linn County Sheriff's Office Mounted Posse transported the pair on horseback to the trail head, arriving at 3:40 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.