Climber missing on Mount Hood has local ties

A local family is waiting at Mount Hood in Oregon in hopes that their missing son and a companion will be found on the mountain alive despite days of snow and the threat of avalanche, which have hampered searchers.

Jon and LaDonna Vietti received word very early on Saturday morning that their son, Anthony, had not returned from a one-day climb on Friday.  According to stories in The Oregonian newspaper over the weekend, he and two friends were making a technical ascent of the west side near Reid Glacier.

The body of one of the climbers, Luke Gullberg, 26, was found on the glacier Saturday morning. He died of hypothermia. He was leading Vietti, 24, of Longview, Wash., and Katie Nolan, 29, of southeast Portland, Ore.

The search team leader, Steve Rollins, is quoted as saying that their efforts are a rescue mission, not a search for victims. The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said that the climbers were expert and well-equipped. Searchers hope they built themselves a snow shelter.

Ground crews were not able to go out Sunday because of the danger of avalanche. The search was conducted with a Black Hawk military helicopter, a Civil Air Patrol fixed wing airplane and a Coast Guard C-130, according to The Oregonian. The Black Hawk worked again Monday as ground teams searched below, racing against an oncoming storm. Heavy snow on Tuesday grounded the teams, except for a break in which the helicopter could lift off.