Climber dies on Three Fingered Jack

A mountain climber tumbled 800 feet off the west side of Three Fingered Jack west of Camp Sherman on Sunday, October 26.

According to reports from rescuers, Karl Roy Iwen, 27, of Salem, apparently fell 200-300 feet near "The Crawl," then apparently cartwheeled another 500 feet, and may have landed in a crevasse.

Two other climbers, who had just met Iwen at the trailhead that morning, reported to authorities that Iwen slipped while descending1 at about 2:30 p.m. They were unable to reach him and hiked out to the trailhead at Highway 20.

Lynn County Sheriff's Department asked the Camp Sherman Hasty Team for assistance at about 5:30 p.m. That 10-person team, including a paramedic, was not successful finding the climber on Sunday and stayed overnight on the mountain to begin the search again Monday at dawn.

In the meantime, personnel from the Corvallis and Eugene Mountain Rescue teams headed to the scene.

At 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Linn County Sheriff's Department Sergeant Kevin Green reported there were 32 rescuers on the mountain.

"We believe we have a visual. It doesn't look good. We don't know if there is a safe way to get to him," said Green at that time.

Green said "it was 30 degrees last night, with an icy fog and mist. It snowed a little bit but nothing stayed on the ground." The mist froze on the rocks, making access very hazardous.

Iwen's body was eventually spotted. According to rescuers, there were no signs of life. Nor was there a way to get to Iwen that wouldn't put rescuers in grave danger.

A National Guard rescue helicopter couldn't reach Iwen's body despite "heroic" efforts, with the helicopter hovering quite near the cliff face, said observers.