OREGON CITY, Ore. — A climber's slip near the summit of Mount Hood was the first step in a chain reaction that swept three groups of climbers into a crevasse, killing three and injuring seven, according to a report released Wednesday.
Clackamas County criminalist Tim Bailey's report ruled out drugs or alcohol, negligence or faulty equipment as causes of the May 30 accident, which he said took three to five seconds.
"This was an accident, and Mr. (William) Ward slipped," Bailey said.
Bailey quoted 16-year-old hiker Luke Pennington, who was with a group of four hikers above the climbers, and saw Ward slip.
"What Mr. Pennington told me was that Mr. Ward was facing east on the mountain. He was trying to turn around to get his left foot lower on the mountain and keep descending, and at that point he slipped and fell," Bailey said.
Ward landed on his back with his head facing down the 11,235-foot mountain and began sliding downhill on the icy slope, pulling Harry Slitter, Chris Kern and Richard Read with him. They slid into Thomas Hillman and John Biggs.
Other witnesses who saw the six hikers slide down the mountain said "they were all bouncing off each other, they were spinning around in circles, and as they came down they hit the next group of three," Bailey said. "They all went into the crevasse."
Ward, 49, of Forest Grove; Biggs, 62, of Windsor, Calif., and Richard Read, 48, of Forest Grove, were killed.
Ward had about three to five years of climbing experience and had climbed Mount Hood at least once before with a guide, Bailey said.
Bailey said some mountains, like Mount Rainier, have fixed ropes and cables along particularly dangerous stretches. But he said those cables would not likely reduce risk on the Hogsback, the stretch of Mount Hood where the accident occurred, because the area changes from year to year.