Remains of two climbers missing on Mount Hood were recovered today, eight months after winter storms forced rescue crews to end their five-day search.
A 30-member recovery team, coordinated by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, carefully brought down remains soon confirmed to be those of Anthony Vietti of Longview, Wash., and Katie Nolan of Portland. In the process, the team closed a painful chapter for the climbers' families and the close-knit community of mountaineers.
"There are mixed feelings today," said Sheriff Craig Roberts, who went to Mount Hood to monitor the process. "Obviously, there is sadness because of the tragedy that occurred. But on the other hand, it's nice to have closure for everybody involved, particularly the families."
Roberts said he spoke to members of the Vietti and Nolan families, who expressed appreciation for volunteers who risked their lives in the searches last December, as well as during Thursday's recovery effort.
Members of Portland Mountain Rescue recently found remains thought to be Vietti's and alerted the sheriff's office. When the recovery team reached the remains Thursday, above 9,700 feet at the Reid Head Wall on the mountain's southwest flank, it found the second set of remains nearby.
The recovery team, which set out before dawn, took the remains by Sno-Cat toTimberline Lodge around 1:45 p.m., said Lt. Shane Strangfield, who coordinated the recovery. The Clackamas County medical examiner will examine the remains and identify them.
Vietti, 25, Nolan, 29, and Luke Gullberg, 26, of Longview, Wash., were attempting to climb Mount Hood on Dec. 11, 2009. A full-scale rescue effort was launched when the climbing party failed to return as scheduled.
On Dec. 12, search crews found Gullberg's body on a steep section of Reid Glacier.
What happened to the climbing party remains unknown. Searchers determined that Gullberg fell, then walked or crawled several hundred yards before succumbing to his injuries and the brutal weather.
Volatile weather conditions on the mountain made subsequent searches extremely difficult. Avalanche danger was so severe that even stable slopes had started to slide, making it impossible for climbers to head up the mountain. A storm system blanketed the mountain with clouds, posing a serious challenge to the Oregon Army National Guard helicopters trying to conduct an aerial search. Sixty-mph winds raged the entire time.
On Dec. 16, the search was suspended.
Strangfield said Thursday's recovery effort took advantage of a good weather window.
"It was real smooth," Strangfield said. "There were no injuries or problems."
He said the 30-member recovery team included members of American Medical Response Reach and Treat, Mountain Wave Emergency Communications, the Oregon Army National Guard, 304th Air Rescue and Timberline Lodge.
Vietti, Nolan and Gullberg all were committed mountaineers, united in their Christian faith.
Vietti was a member of The Bridge Church in Longview and worked at Island Lake, a Christian camp northwest of Seattle.
He went to high school in Montana and was a member of Olympic Mountain Rescue in Kitsap County in 2005. Vietti was a student at Lower Columbia College, where he made the dean's list for students who maintained at least a 3.25 grade-point average.
At the Longview church, Vietti was a youth group leader and often served as a driver at retreats.
Nolan grew up in the Pacific Northwest and lived in Portland for about three years. She was an outreach advocate for Catholic Charities' housing assistance program for homeless women. Sometimes Nolan headed out early in the morning to talk with women living on the streets.
She had begun work on a master's degree in social work at Portland State University and had traveled extensively, including trips to Peru and Nepal.
Gullberg, who grew up in Des Moines, worked as a sales clerk at an REI store in Tukwila and studied writing and English at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.
He participated in the Campus Crusade for Christ, belonged to a group called Climbers for Christ and listed the Bible as one of his favorite books.
Like Vietti, Gullberg was affiliated with Island Lake camp.
-- Rick Bella