Curiosity
mount hood snowboarder found dead: reports
A dozen rescuers armed with chain saws and other tools chipped away at tons of ice and snow Sunday to the recover the body of a 25-year-old snowboarder killed when an ice tunnel collapsed on Oregon’s Mount Hood.
Mount Hood, located roughly fifty miles southeast of Portland, is a popular destination for snowboarders. Standing at 11,239 feet and situated between Hood River and Clackamas counties, it represents an irresistible thrill for snowboarders. However, the thrill comes with a risk. Three years ago, Curtis Lawrence Dahl, age 29, was lost and discovered 24 hours later cold, tired, but alive.
However, in the case of 25-year-old snowboarder Collin Backowski, the ending was tragic.
Backowski was traveling with five buddies Saturday afternoon when an ice tunnel collapsed engulfing him. Rescuers were quickly engaged and began the quest to dig him out. However, the rising temperature made the snow slushy thus hampering their efforts. By 11PM local time, rescuers had to call it a night for safety reasons.
They resumed the recovery effort early the next morning and finally retrieved his body. Backowski had been buried under as much as ten feet of snow and ice. His friends tried to dig him out at the time of the accident, but reported that the ice was rock hard.
The ice tunnel on Mount Hood is located at an elevation of 6,000 feet above sea level. Backowski’s group was engaged in taking photographs just prior to the collapse.
On The Web:
Mt. Hood snowboarder body found
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?id=9195126
