Four Climbers Were Rescued From the Columbia Gorge Friday Morning

Somewhere along the way, a rope became stuck, leaving them stranded during a descent.

4286640293_d3d2b6f44d_o Columbia River Gorge (Sarah McDevitt/Flickr)
By Shannon Gormley

Early Friday morning, search and rescue crews retrieved four climbers who had become stuck overnight in the Columbia Gorge.

The four climbers, whose names have not been released, set out on Thursday to canyoneer the steep bluffs along Munra Creek. Somewhere along the way, a rope became stuck, leaving them stranded during a descent. One climber became trapped between two waterfalls—50 and 65 feet tall, respectively—separating them from the rest of the group.

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office received a call for help after midnight on April 30. Volunteer group Portland Mountain Rescue was tapped to help retrieve the climbers. By the time PMR found the group in the early hours of Friday morning, they had been stuck for almost 10 hours.

“Because of the climbers’ fatigue,” reads the sheriff’s office release about the incident, “rescuers decided to lower the trio, rather than risk climbing steep canyon walls.”

After spending the night in the Gorge waiting to be rescued, the climbers and the crew that rescued them returned to the trailhead at 6:15 am. All four were evaluated and released on the scene.

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