CLIMBER RESCUED FROM UNDER 16,000 POUND BOULDER – May 27

A climber was rescued after being pinned beneath a massive boulder near Timberline Lodge on Oregon’s Mount Hood. The man was coming down the mountain and he stepped off the trail to let a couple of groups of other people come up. He apparently stepped into a scree field, loosening the rocks holding up the bolder, and it slid down, pinning him. The other climbers stayed with him until rescuers arrived to release him from under the rock, estimated to weigh 16,000 pounds. A team of highly trained rescuers constructed a system to lift the boulder, and Flight For Life flew him to a local trauma center for emergency care. Surprisingly, he was not badly injured and is expected to recover from his injuries.
* If all those people are what you need to get your rocks off, then so be it.
* This takes “between a rock and a hard place” to a whole new level.
* Sadly, the trauma center was closed, but they were able to slip him through the mail slot.
* They’ll probably want him to pay for the rescue but he’s, you know, flat broke.
* Obviously, the lesson here is, if you’re on a mountain trail and some other people are approaching and need to get past you, screw ’em.