News Release from: Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office

Rescued Mt. Hood climber provides statement about ordeal -- and thanks rescuers

Posted: July 7, 2008, 7:11 p.m.

Erik Scott Heerlein -- who was injured and rescued on Mt. Hood on Sunday -- has provided a statement to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. Heerlein asked the Sheriff's Office to distribute the following statement to all media outlets:
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Erik Scott Heerlein, 35, was a member of an 11-person team of climbers on the south face of Mount Hood on July 6th, 2008. The team had summated the 11,200-foot peak by about 9:00 a.m. Erik was headed back down the mountain, descending a steep chute toward the Hogsback, a ridge of snow just below the Pearly Gates, when he slipped. He was unable to self-arrest on the steep terrain and quickly picked up speed, tumbling about 200 feet, finally coming to rest at 10,700 feet, just above Crater Rock near the Devil's Kitchen (GPS Coordinates: N 45 degrees 22.330' W121 degrees 41.938).

Team members who witnessed the accident said that it looked like he was knocked unconscious soon after he fell and tumbled like a rag doll for most of the distance. Several members of his climbing team, which included a physician and a paramedic, and two members of another team, one of whom was a medical student, reached him quickly and were able to stabilize him and assess his condition. He had regained consciousness -- but had a number of cuts and abrasions and had broken his right leg.

The most worrisome of his injuries, however, was a head injury -- which made it imperative that he get off the mountain and to a hospital as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, the team was well-prepared, with cell phones, a GPS unit, and a mountain rescue locator, and was able to contact the Clackamas County Sheriff's office, relaying detailed information about Mr. Heerlein's condition as well as their precise location.

Rescuers from an American Medical Response Reach and Treat Team (RAT) were able to get to Heerlein quickly with medical supplies, and the 1042nd Oregon Army National Guard was able to send a helicopter to airlift him to Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland.

Mr. Heerlein would like to express his deepest gratitude to the people who worked hard to get him safely off the mountain.

Says Heerlein: "The doctors say my head's gonna be fine, so it looks like I'll walk away from this with nothing more than a banged-up body, a couple of chipped teeth, and a broken leg. But without the quick response of my team members and fellow mountaineers, the Sheriff's Office, the American Medical Response Reach & Treat Team, and the Army National Guard Medivac crew, it would've been much worse. Without the helicopter, moving me from such a steep and isolated spot would've been difficult and might have put other climbers in jeopardy -- and it certainly would've meant that I went without hospital care for a much longer period of time. It's no stretch to say that those guys saved my life."

On-scene photography, including medic work and airlift, can be obtained for limited-use purposes from freelance photographer Terry Manier. He can be reached through his Web site, www.maniercreative.com.

EARLIER: Clackamas County Sheriff's Office leads Mt. Hood rescue mission; injured climber airlifted to hospital

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