on a perfect spring morning. and by can a.m., their group is nearing the summit. it was great. i had a great rhythm going. i was excited. it was gorgeous up there. i was thinking at the summit, i couldn t imagine what i was going to be able to see from up there. just before the push to the top selena and the others are standing on a spiny ridge just above this menacing crevasse known as the bertram. when i got up there and looked down, i was surprised at how big it was. just as selena and her group approaches the imposing the crevasse, her group and others are enjoying a view. it was crystal clear, just perfect. perfect. meanwhile, in selena and jeremiah s group, the seven climbers decide to follow an old climbing tradition. the group leaders split family members and loved ones into two different rope climbs, separating jeremiah and selena and father and son, cleve and coal joiner. his whole reason behind that
all the ice was coming down on us and just prayed that we didn t get hit. but i was fully expecting an impact. then the bodies just started sliding into the crevasse. you could hear them thump. selena is somehow spared from the fall, but her boyfriend, jeremiah, is not as lucky. cleve s son cole, too, gone with several others. there was just dead silence. and i remember just sitting there looking and a thousand things went through my mind. the very first one was, they re all dead. 911, what s the location of your emergency? this is on mt. hood on the south side, about 800 feet from the peak. we have seven people down, possibly four injured. they fell into the crevasse. the news is more grim that cleave thinks. nine people, not seven, have fallen in. and if it only were just injuries. harry sledder, now deep in the
crevasse, rolls on to his side and finds fellow climber john biggs lying next to him. i thought he was just unconscious. knox knocked unconscious. he was sorry. i tried. two more who had fallen, three in all, suffered the same awful fate. three climbers dead. i had this wonderful trip where half an hour ago we were all smiling, go to the other extreme. cleve joiner doesn t know it, standing 30 feet above, but his son, cole, has survived. i didn t even get the wind knocked out of me when i landed. so i just got up and did whatever i could. the call his dad, cleve joiner, makes to 911 sets in
kim is very concerned about sam. he has a medical condition, and she fears the trauma of the accident may affect his heart. sam looked extremely red with the pressure, you know. that was my concern, making sure he remained calm. but kim knows if they have it bad, contractor bruce boyles has it worse. he s hanging below them from his safety harness, which is still connecting him to the bucket. one wrong move could send them all crashing into the water below. we were just encouraging him to hang on, hang in there, help was on the way. kim doesn t know it from her position in the bucket, but the contractor who fell into the river has survived and is pulled to safety below. now rescuers on the bridge are trying to devise a plan to save the rest of them. captain randy fulford was one of the individuals that i knew had recent high angle rescue training that i knew would make the rescue more safe, both for the individuals we were rescuing, but also for our own rescuers.
and finds fellow climber john biggs lying next to him. i thought he was just unconscious. he was sorry. i tried. two more who had fallen, three in all, suffered the same awful fate. three climbers dead. i had this wonderful trip where half an hour ago we were all smiling, go to the other extreme. cleve joiner doesn t know it, standing 30 feet above, but his son, cole, has survived. i didn t even get the wind knocked out of me when i landed. so i just got up and did whatever i could. the call his dad, cleve