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Anonymous · Posted: Sat December 16, 2006 Post subject: Maybe....

Maybe they are still alive. What do you think?

msnbc:

COOPER SPUR, Ore. - Rescue workers searching for three lost climbers on Oregon's highest peak said Friday that they found a note left by the missing men on their ascent outlining their itinerary and listing the equipment they were carrying.

At a news conference, Sheriff's Capt. Chris Bernard said the three missing climbers had written in a climbers' log during their ascent.

"These climbers did the right thing," he said. "They logged in and left a note saying 'Hello! We're three climbers — Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke — attempting North Face today: Thursday 12/7 . We have food, fuel, shovel. We have experience.' This tells rescuers how prepared they are."

Bernard said searchers were heartened because the trio said they were carrying food, fuel, stoves, bivouac sacks and rope, indicating they were well prepared for the climb.

Slammed by storm
A fierce storm battered the region overnight and into early Friday, preventing rescuers from searching on the higher reaches of the peak. The National Weather Service said winds at 9,000 feet reached 60 to 80 mph.

Searchers were continuing to hunt at lower elevations in hopes that some climbers had managed to descend that far.

On Thursday, efforts to use small, unmanned planes carrying devices that can detect body heat were stymied when lenses fogged up. The flights reached about 500 feet above a camp at 6,000 feet where rescuers have set up a staging area, said John Blitch, leader of the Colorado nonprofit group Aracar, which provided the flights.

Some rescuers were waiting at a camp on the flank of the 11,239-foot mountain in hopes that the weather would break, allowing them to reach the summit. One climber is believed to be holed up in a snow cave near the top, and the other two are thought to have tried to descend for help.

Because of the heavy winds, forecasters said rescuers' next shot would probably be Saturday — more than a week after the climbers ascended.

Also Thursday, authorities said a cell phone belonging to the climber believed to be in the snow cave was on briefly as recently as Tuesday. But for more than three days the phone has not responded to engineers' signals, sent every five minutes.

In response to its "pings," T-Mobile got a return signal from James' cell phone early Tuesday, indicating the handset was back on, when it had been off, authorities said Thursday.

The Hood River County sheriff's office initially said the signal was returned at about 10:55 p.m., but later the phone company said the last signal returned from the handset was at 1:51 a.m. Tuesday.

But the sequence suggested that James, 48, of Dallas, may have turned his cell phone off to conserve battery power, a possibility that brought hope to family members gathered near the mountain.

"My heart was in my throat when I heard that, because if it's true it means Kelly is alive, and he has his wits about him," his brother, Frank James of Orlando, Fla., said at a news conference.

Authorities looked at lower elevations for Hall of Dallas and Cooke, of New York in hopes that they had gotten down from near the summit.

The three set out a week ago for what was to have been a two-day climb to the summit.

James' wife, Karen, said the families of the three men remained confident.

"These are three of the most phenomenal men you could ever meet. They're smart, they are strong, and they care so deeply for one another," she said.

Hobo · Posted: Sat December 16, 2006 Post subject:

They have food and supplies, but how much food is not known. If they still have the fuel and stoves, they should be able to make water from melting snow. It is still possible they are alive, if they havent frozen or been buried in snow.