When a sudden rockslide pinned a climber near Timberline Lodge, it triggered a massive, highly coordinated response involving heavy rigging, a field surgical team flown in by helicopter, and nine rescue agencies.
It took rescuers about two hours to lift the 16,000 pound boulder off of the climber (Photo: Clackamas Fire)
Published May 26, 2026 05:56PM
Rescue personnel on Oregon’s Mount Hood successfully saved a climber who was pinned beneath a 16,000-pound boulder on May 24. According to officials involved in the rescue, the lifesaving mission involved air medical crews, a specialized surgical team, and a SAR squad with technical rescue abilities.
Officials told Outside that the man is expected to make a full recovery. His name, age, and condition have not yet been released.
“Mount Hood personnel perform countless rescues every year, but few of them are of this magnitude,” Lynsey Amundson, public information officer with responding agency Clackamas County Fire District, told Outside.
According to rescuers, the man was hiking along a defined trail near Timberline Lodge, about 60 miles east of Portland. The lodge itself sits at an elevation of 6,000 feet. He was one mile up the mountain when he stepped off the trail into a scree field to let other hikers pass, triggering a small rockslide. A boulder fell from about 15 feet above him, Amundson said, and landed on the lower part of his body, from the waist down.
Clackamas Fire’s Technical Rescue Team wrote on Facebook that other hikers in the area attempted to push the boulder off of the man, but couldn’t do so.
It took nine teams two hours to unpin the climber, after building a series of wedges and pulleys to move the boulder.
“The climber was conscious and able to communicate, but the nature of the accident and potential severity of the person’s injuries called for a sophisticated response,” responders wrote.
Video of the rescue shows the climber pinned beneath a rock between the snowline and a scree field. A group of highly trained rescuers constructed a lift ladder system using wooden wedges to stabilize the boulder as they lifted and held it with a rope. Rescuers also activated a specialized field surgical team, transporting surgeons from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) to the scene by helicopter.
“While rescuers labored in challenging conditions to remove the boulder, physicians and surgeons at OHSU quickly assembled medical equipment and loaded it onboard a Life Flight helicopter in a remarkable display of collaboration,” officials wrote.
The team successfully removed the boulder from the patient and medivaced him to a hospital by helicopter just two hours after receiving the initial call. Authorities told Outside that he is still being treated.
It is incredibly rare for a hospital to load surgeons and field surgical equipment onto a LifeFlight helicopter to perform active triage on a snowline. Though uncommon, news reports suggest that search-and-rescue crews annually extract a couple of people who are trapped under boulders in the U.S.
“Outdoor recreationists should stay aware of their surroundings, remain on marked trails whenever possible, recreate within their skill level, and avoid hiking alone,” Amundson told Outside.
Agencies involved in the rescue included Clackamas Fire, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Hoodland Fire, Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood Ski Patrol, Life Flight Network, OHSU, Portland Mountain Rescue, PNW Search and Rescue, and the Hood River Crag Rats.
