Deadly Mt. Hood Hike | Disastrous Storm Strikes During High School Trip

I've climbed Mt Hood to the summit! I've been at elevation on her slopes and have seen weather conditions change on a dime. I couldn't imagine taking children up the Hogsback up through the Pearly Gates! Just too risky!

Taking high school students to ascend MT Hood. 🤯 The 80’s and 90’s were savage. It was a different time for us. Sad for the victims.

Did the adults check the weather forecast before taking a bunch of kids up a dangerous mountain in winter? Unbelievable

Was a very poor decision outing

Wow, this is a very nice series! Good graphics and interesting documentaries.

This story bothers me. Father Tom was not the only problem, there's plenty of blame to go around, starting with the school administration, and the parents who went along with this ill-advised, unnecessary trek. (Some were first-time climbers; there was no need to tackle a formidable mountain like Mt. Hood just because it was in their "backyard.")

Mountain climbing is inherently dangerous. Even highly experienced, professional adult climbers die on mountains every year. Things can turn on a dime "up there." The weather forecast was not good. As well, it sounds as though the group was not properly kitted or prepared---no altimeter, one shovel, one sleeping bag, etc.).

These were young people, not fully capable of understanding the danger they were undertaking. To them, it was an exciting adventure. They were relying on the good sense and good judgement of the adults in their lives---and the adults failed them, imo.

I'll probably be accused of insensitivity here but my hope is people make better choices when it comes to the safety of their children---this was a big risk---sometimes you have to make the unpopular decision---and say "no." (I'm sure the man who felt "uneasy" about his son's participation wishes every day he'd followed his instincts and said "not today, son.")

RIP

That's just tragic.

Only in America one guy is building the hut and other 12 guys are just sitting under a tarp freezing their butts off instead of helping him
How ridiculous people have to be???

Father Tom led the kids and the team to the disaster. Why can’t they wait till the weather improves? This is a total lack of
Common sense and care for the children

Entitled a “Tragic Tale,” yeah it’s tragic alright, it’s a total disaster.

Entitled a “Tragic Tale,” yeah it’s tragic alright, it’s a total disaster.

The way I understand it, father Tom knew bad weather was rolling in so they made an early start expecting to get home early before bad weather rolled in. However, the weather didn’t cooperate. Yes, it was not wise to risk the safety of the kids when it was known that the weather was going to turn ugly.
A good example of goal oriented behavior. In hind sight, wrong time, wrong place.

This is ground control to Father Tom, you are completely obsessed with yourself and won't tolerate weakness. The ultimate bully with a dog collar, one of thousands the same. All those mountain club memberships and claims of "expertise" were a sign to not follow such a person's lead. Humility before nature, even more so on mountains during harsh weather conditions.

There was no "urgency to move faster", the urgency was to turn back way before when the first falls took place and early returners - they should have STOPPED AND CALLED IT OFF AND RETURNED SAFELY ALL TOGETHER. Such a person SHOULD NEVER have been in charge of young climbers who he could bully with impunity. This kind of situation was totally avoidable with just a minimum amount of common sense. Unfortunately, common sense is a rare sense.

Even with all this, a timely rescue could have been made if there had been more accurate information. No altimeter, no communications, no flares, no other type of emergency location device. How can all of these critical items for undertaking a perilous journey have been carelessly omitted? The whole sorry escapade was a shambles from start to finish, only the tireless work of rescue workers and the fact that two of the climbers went out from the cave to get help and result in the location of the trapped climbers, unfortunatelyit was far too late for most of them. Nine precious lives were lost and two people had to have leg amputations, all in the name of outdoor adventure.

Not all outdoor adventure is the same in terms of risks and potential for changing conditions. Familiarity often breeds contempt, no matter how well-meaning or caring a leader may appear to be. A catalogue of errors that should not have occurred, but they did. The family and friends of those who died will never be the same. I find it hard to understand why the school was not held responsible for the safety of this activity. It seems they had paid a lot of money to a slippery lawyer to avoid any conviction of negligence and criminal accountability. It's BS about the onset of hypothermia affecting judgement as a reason to absolve responsibility. The bad decisions were made way before they even set off! Somewhere there was pressure to avoid cancelling the climb to avoid incurring any cost consequences, but that will be covered up forever. This video has made me feel so angry at how this was allowed to proceed from the start, and how it wasn't aborted at the first sign of severe problems. At this point, Father Tom would not yet have been suffering from hypothermia, so why the hell did he insist in pushing the group further up into greater danger, not risk, but real and present danger? A group of adults would not have followed such flawed leadership, but these youngsters were not protected by anyone; neither by the school, nor the group leaders, especially Father Tom.

Did you see this guy father tom he definitely had a face not to trust your kids alone in the mountains with

I was literally in tears by the end of this video. 😪 That was heart wrenching to hear what happened to those kids and adults up there! Not to mention the panic felt by the families. You’re an awesome story teller! 👍

"Father" Tom was a phony. He never should have taken those kids up there.

Father sure was a dumbass father. All the adults are guilty of murder.

Why not carry a small can of Kool-Aid to sprinkle? This water-soluble dye could act as a marker to indicate the direction of the lost climber.

In the 1986, I was hired by washoe hospital and was required to take classes on building snow cave and survival.
Seemed silly bit during winter, we all crossed Sierra mountain every weekend to escape the winter and return on Sunday.
One accident or snowstorm could keep i-80 closed for days.
Thank god for the education, saved a lot of people.
Donners pass, every time we pass and snow 30 feet deep.
Thanks to washoe Hospital, we could help others with the required items required in the car. Security did random checks to verify that we were prepared.❤

Summers really did so much to save the kids he did! He was wonderful

Oh. The school was a cult.
Parents were fear driven to comply
Father Tom definitely had some ilklings in his personality.

REQUIRED by all 10th graders to climb MT HOOD???? WTF i wouldn't have done it ... I wud have quit school ...

This is INSANE like take the kids

SKIING

4 THE DAY ....U CHEAP F!!!!!

I'm 4 mins in and I don't even know if I can watch this narcissistic nightmare unfold 👀

I just found this Chanel and want to say Thank you 😊.
Gos Bless 🙌 🙏 all those taht have suffered 😢

Man Molly was a baddie!

What’s going on with the left kid in the thumbnail? I think his arms are attached backwards.

Who would be dumb enough to let their kids climb that? They are worthy!

1. Check the weather
2. Plan on everything going wrong
3 know your limits
4. Don’t be afraid to quit

MT Hood is always dangerous , but especially , in the winter. The weather ,can change in a second. That chaplain was wrong!

Many clever decisions ....

That kid didn't know a damn thing about wilderness survival.

Don't go at all, and sit in a nearby bar and watch 😵‍💫

I remember when this happened. It was news all the way to the East Coast where I was living at the time.

😢

That pastor, who was supposedly a mountaineer, should have known better. Did these kids have this kind of training? People who climb Mt. Hood train for a year.

Shitty conditions to start with, I would have Never attempted it.

Wait a minute, what in the hell are they doing hiking kids up mt hood in the snow in the dark? That time of year? I live near Mt Hood. This is actually crazy to hear

Moral of the story?

Don't climb mountains when bad weather is forecast. Mt. Hood is actually one of the most dangerous mountains in the western hemisphere. It appears fairly unassuming, but it has a history of sudden storms, crevasses, and it is deceivingly steep, which fatigues even seasoned climbers. Late and early season climbs should be avoided by everyone except experts.

This definitely comes off as a new agey guru type deal gone way wrong, and there were quite a few of these in the 70's and 80's when people just seemed to be more naive. I'm sure Father Tom told the kids and parents that mountain climbing had a spiritual dimension to it and braving the mountain would enrich everyone's life.

That mountain is no joke, i almost got in trouble there too because of the weather.

This video has a lot of incorrect facts. Molly did not leave the cave.

A mans arrogance is what caused the death of those children. It’s not as if the storm came out of nowhere. However in typical European American male fashion consequences are different for them.

Lesson : DO NOT proceed with bad weather forecast. It hits the mountain hours before it hits the valley ..and, do not go with incompetent and overzealous climb leaders. There were too many other inexcusable errors on the part of the adults here too many to mention.

Irresponsible adults. So awful.

Snow, prospects of bad or unpredictable weather, are always a good reasons to say “I have changed my mind, and I am gonna sit in the lodge and drink hot cocoa.” Every expedition should have a well supported and thought out back-out plan. I have followed MANY leaders in my day, serving 22 years in the military, and all I have to say to civilians who are not compelled to “follow orders” or do something risky should not go with anyone based on likability, position, or authority. I know that is hard for humans. Even this preacher man’s technical and tactical experience on such climbs should not hold more weight than or consideration of Mother Nature, and we all know how crazy ❤️😘 women can be. Perhaps you can tell the story of the Japanese Military unit with hundreds of men, of which almost all of them froze to death following leaders who shouldn’t have been doing what they were trying to do. To this day, our well trained, physically fit, and well equipped will stand down rather than challenge Mother Nature.

Patrick wanted to go back but they refused him basically. Very heartbreaking.

I enjoyed your narration style on another vid, or should i say reading style. But this one sounded like your were speeding through it. I slowed it down slightly but couldn't really keep up with who was where and what was what.

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU TAKE TEENAGERS TO A PLACE LIKE THIS?????? INSANITY. THOSE POOR KIDS, RIP. I HIKED THOUSANDS OF MILES ON MANY DIFFERENT FORESTS AND I NEVER WENT WHEN BAD WEATHER, ALWAYS HAD A WAY TO CONTACT PEOPLE AND I WAS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE BUT I WOULDN'T HAVE GONE UP THAT MOUNTAIN IN THE SNOW WITH A STORM COMING.

"Base Camp. A requirement of all 10th graders."
Father Tom's ego and hubris created this disaster. Ignoring the weather report was unforgivable folly.