Q: What do these two things have in common?
Rock Ballads
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Mt. Hood
A: That's right. Both can kill.
I bring this up because it seems that in recent years there has been a spat of climbing deaths on Mt. Hood (this past week is no exception) and it has forced me to ask the hard questions:
Why do people climb this damn thing?
Is it the gently inviting slopes?
The placid forests?
The siren calls of the native Sasquatch?
Now, it seems that more and more groups of three head out to do some traipsing around on the mountain, only to fall victim to freezing temperatures and stale granola. Hubris at it's best.
Even a quick perusal of the internet will tell you that anything associated with the mountain is wrought with tragedy. Commissioned in July 1944, the munitions ship USN Mt. Hood was destroyed when a weapons magazine exploded in November. Tally? 45 dead, 327 missing, 371 injured. That's Bad News Bears, man. (I know, I know, some of you are saying that another munitions ship was comissioned in 1971 and sailed for over 20 years without mishap, but that doesn't really add anything to my point and so I choose to ignore it.)
For godsake, if you must climb that towering bitch of a rock, make sure you pack a satellite phone, or at the very least, some aged gouda, so the rescue dogs can find your ass after the avalanche.
