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 teams, separating jeremiah and selena and father and son, cleve and cole joiner. his whole reason behind that was in case there was an accident, that the families wouldn t be together, so there would be a better chance of survival or less injury. just before jeremiah goes on ahead, selena pulls him aside again with that nagging feeling. i whispered it because i didn t want everyone to know this since i am the only girl. i said, i am really scared right now. he said, we ll be okay. it s just before 9:00 a.m. selena and jeremiah s groups are en route to the top while a
en route to the top while a preacher and harry sledder are in a group heading down. we were at a stop, on the ridge, and i saw a red flash. the red flash? harry s friend bill ward in a red jacket hurtling down the mountain. an incredible force literally ripped me from the mountain. i remember watching my ice ax just rip through the ice. it s all happening so fast. harry and his friend bill and several others are in one tangled mess heading right for selena. i put my head down because 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.
preacher onthomas hillman and harry sledder are in a group heading down. we were at a stop, on the ridge, and i saw a red flash. the red flash? harry s friend bill ward in a red jacket hurtling down the mountain. an incredible force literally ripped me from the mountain. i remember watching my ice ax just rip through the ice. it s all happening so fast. harry and his friend bill and several others are in one tangled mess heading right for selena. i put my head down because 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.
i remember watching my ice ax just rip through the ice. it s all happening so fast. harry and his friend bill and several others are in one tangled mess heading right for selena. i put my head down because 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, you know, 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 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,