By Teresa Carson
PORTLAND, Ore., Aug 13 (Reuters) – A member of the Polish
armed forces who was in the United States for military training
was missing on Mount Hood on Tuesday, two days after he told his
roommate that he planned to scale the Oregon peak.
The roommate notified authorities when Sebastian Kinasiewicz
did not return by Monday morning, the Hood River County
Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
It gave no further information about Kinasiewicz, who had
been undergoing training in nearby Washington state conducted by
a company that designs and produces drone aircraft.
Kinasiewicz, whose car was found parked at a trailhead, is
described as a novice climber. He was carrying crampons, an ice
axe and a back pack with warm clothing and water, but no other
survival gear, the Sheriff’s office said.
Witnesses reported they saw a lone climber on a route
called Cooper Spur on the north side of the mountain Sunday,
Mark Morford, a spokesman for Portland Mountain Rescue said.
“That is a popular advanced route,” Morford said.
“Mountain conditions are reasonably good,” Morford said,
“Rock fall is always a hazard this time of year.”
An Oregon Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter was
deployed in the search on Tuesday, following searches by fixed
wing aircraft on Monday. Ground teams included National Guard
members and volunteers from Portland Mountain Rescue.
Morford said that Mount Hood is the second most climbed
glaciated mountain in the world after Mount Fuji in Japan.
It is estimated that around 8,000 people climb Mount Hood
every year, mostly between April and July, according to the U.S.
Forest Service. Roughly two people die each year on the
mountain.
Climbers are advised to file a route before climbing.
Kinasiewicz’s route was unknown.
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Andrew Hay)
