Climbers rescued after becoming stuck on a cliff

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    MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Oregon (KPTV) — The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (SAR) team said it rescued four climbers that became stuck early Friday morning in the Columbia River Gorge.

The sheriff’s office said it received a call just after midnight on Friday of the climbers that became stuck on a cliff. The climbers had reported they were canyoneering in the Gorge and entered from the Wahclella Falls trailhead. They were equipped with ropes and safety equipment and appropriately dressed.

After tying off, they ran into complications when a rope became stuck during their descent. One climber became separated from the party and was stranded between two waterfalls.

Due to the extreme terrain, the Multnomah County SAR team activated Portland Mountain Rescue, a volunteer group of highly skilled climbers that have experience in mountainous terrain. Scott Norton is a rescue team leader with Portland Mountain Rescue and said the area where the group was stuck made the rescue challenging.

“Any time that we’re talking about somebody in cliffy terrain in the gorge is going to be a challenging situation, potentially high risk that we take very seriously,” Norton said. He also said that because the group was canyoneering, that made the severity of the rescue and risk even higher.

“Canyoneering is a relatively newish hobby here in the pacific northwest and it is by definition very severe,” Norton said. “You’re purposefully going off trail into wilderness, extraordinarily rugged and cliffy areas and purposefully being in water and it’s a beautiful experience and it’s a great adventure but the threshold for preparedness needs to be extremely high.”

The ground team reached the separated climber as rescuers began lowering the climbers down the side of the 50-foot waterfall. Erik Broms, another rescue leader, said the terrain where they found the group was also tricky to get to.

“The terrain is steep, it’s loose, you could kick loose rocks down on the people below you if you’re not careful and you have to stay out of each other’s fall line when you’re heading down steep terrain,” Broms said.

Once reunited, rescuers guided the climbers down across a stream and down a rocky slope near Munra Falls to the Wahclella Falls Trailhead. They were evaluated on scene and released.

Norton said despite how challenging the rescue was, it only took about three hours. He said rescuers arrived around 3:00 a.m. and everyone was back in the parking lot by 6:00 a.m.

Multnomah County SAR said canyoneering is becoming an increasingly popular activity in the Northwest and the Gorge is an attractive destination. Rescuers advise any climbers to be prepared and to have a plan before making a trip. Rescuers find that many climbers are not prepared for the amount of water found in creeks and waterfalls year-round. This area was also impacted by the Eagle Creek Fire in 2017, and the terrain is constantly changing, quickly dating even recent trip reports from prior climbers and hikers.

Norton and Broms both said it’s essential for everyone to be prepared if you’re heading out to the gorge.

“Always let somebody know where you’re going and what time you’re going to be back and don’t deviate from that plan,” Broms said. “Always have extra clothing, food, water, make sure you got extra batteries for your headlamp.” And if you do get stuck, lost or find yourself in a dangerous spot, don’t hesitate to call for help.

“It’s much, much worse if you delay asking for help and get yourself into more trouble,” Norton said.

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