Climber rescued from Mt. Jefferson

A rescue helicopter heads for Brent McGregor's position on Mount Jefferson. McGregor broke his leg while descending the peak and spent a cold night on the slopes. photo provided

Life on the edge is not without its risks.

Those risks hit home for Sisters mountain climber Brent McGregor on Sunday, April 25. The 51-year-old adventurer broke his leg 7,900 feet up Mount Jefferson in freezing weather.

McGregor, with the help of his climbing partner, Tom Herron, 41, summited the second highest mountain in Oregon (10,495 feet) and was on his way down. It was the only mountain in Oregon he had not yet summited and one of the most difficult, he said.

Climbing is McGregor's passion, along with wood-working. He is the owner of Rocky Mountain Timber Products in Sisters and a member of Cascade Mountaineers, a Bend-based climbing club.

McGregor and Herron were walking down through soft snow on a 45-degree slope when McGregor slipped and began sliding and rapidly gaining momentum. He turned over on his stomach and wedged his ice ax into the mountain to try to stop. That didn't work.

"The snow was not the right consistency," McGregor said. "The ice ax went right through it like butter."

After sliding about 20 feet, one of his crampon points caught the snow and jerked McGregor to a jolting and piercingly painful stop.

"Something gave and I heard a pop," McGregor said. "And that was the fibula bone in my leg."

McGregor broke the small bone in his right leg, located near his ankle.

"As soon as it broke, it felt exactly like when I was in high school track and I tripped on a rock in a race and heard a pop," McGregor said. "Right at first, there was intense pain. I tried to breathe deep and slow and relax. I tried slowly to see what my body was telling me was injured. My left leg was packed in the snow. I used the ice ax to get myself out. I tried to stand on my leg once and it was too painful."

Fortunately, McGregor was carrying a cell phone, and after about five attempts, he got a good enough connection to reach 911.

He gave 911 his location at about 7 p.m. on Sunday and a dispatcher contacted a search and rescue team from the Linn County Sheriff's Department.

McGregor was informed someone would arrive in a matter of hours, but as the evening drew on, no one came.

"When you're the victim and waiting for a rescue, it is really hard because you don't know what is going on down there," McGregor said. "But when my eyes were opened to how much energy was involved in getting me off the mountain, it was amazing."

In the meantime, Herron dug out a hole in the snow for them to sleep through the night. Unable to move to stay warm, McGregor fought hypothermia. He said he had packed enough gear to survive one overnight stay and had a partner who worked to save him.

"He was as good of a partner as I could ask for," McGregor said. "He did everything he could to make me comfortable, and stayed calm. Every hour in the night, he got up and busied himself chopping a cave to keep warm. I had four layers of clothing on my upper body and four hats, but I still had the beginning signs of hypothermia. I started uncontrollably shaking several times. I had two sets of hand warmers on my toes and hands. But I was not moving for several hours. I tried to ration the remaining water and food. If I was shaking a lot, my partner would cuddle up next to me to keep me warm."

The rescue team, McGregor later found out, had mistakenly thought he was closer to the ground near Tamalia Lake. When they discovered he was located in a wilderness area, on the northwest region of the mountain, they attempted to save him on foot.

McGregor said a rescue team must try everything possible to save a climber by foot in a wilderness area, before they call in a helicopter.

By Monday morning, however, the Army National Guard Military Air Rescue Team of Salem received permission from the Forest Service to send two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to retrieve McGregor and Herron.

A medic was lowered down with a cable, strapped in McGregor and hoisted him into the helicopter around 10 a.m.

He was transported to St. Charles Medical Center. McGregor said he will need to have surgery to screw his bone together. He said he has been given a four-month recovery time.

McGregor said he is wholeheartedly thankful to the approximately 30 people involved in his rescue, including rescue teams from Corvallis, Deschutes County and Linn County.

Will McGregor climb again? Absolutely, he said.

"A friend said to me that if I sat on the couch for the rest of my life, I would probably be a lot more safe," McGregor said. "But I probably wouldn't have anything to talk about. So it is true I wouldn't have an accident, but my life is so enriched from those experiences."