Climbers' deaths spotlight perils.

Byline: Matt Cooper The Register-Guard

MOUNT WASHINGTON - Officials involved in the search for and recovery of two experienced climbers who fell to their deaths here last week haven't determined the cause of the fall but they issued a warning: Beware the mountain's loose rock.

Thomas A. Seifert, 46, of Goldendale, Wash., and Gary L. Gentz, 50, of White Salmon, Wash., were found dead Saturday morning after they plummeted hundreds of feet off the west side while roped together, Linn County Sheriff Dave Burright said Monday. The climbers had set out for a one-day climb Thursday morning.

Although the Deschutes National Forest could not provide statistics, the fatalities were thought to be the first in 10 to 12 years on Mount Washington, said Iain Morris of the Corvallis and Portland mountain rescue teams. The mountain straddles Deschutes and Linn counties and the Deschutes and Willamette national forests.

Climbers can assess risk by gauging the difficulty of the route up a mountain and the reliability of the rock - that is, whether it will hold the equipment that secures rope, which in turn keeps the climbers safe and anchored to one another as they make their way on the mountain.

Seifert and Gentz chose the West Face route, an approach that is significantly more challenging than the standard northern route, rescuers said.

All the routes to the 7,794-foot peak require rope, but climbers ascending the west side must negotiate near-90-degree walls using tiny cracks that may support nothing more than fingertips or the tip of a toe.

The loose rock at Mount Washington compounds this challenge, forcing climbers to assess the best spots to "place protection," which means affixing the metal pieces that secure the rope.

"You have to be really good at placing protection in the rock," Morris said. "It's significantly more dangerous than your average rock crag."

Rescuers found no obvious signs of equipment failure, but they are unable to say whether the climbers had adequately secured ropes and other gear to the mountain.

"It's going to take experts to look at the evidence and conclude what happened," said Mark Foster of the Jefferson County sheriff's office search-and-rescue unit.

People who learn the sport in a climbing gym can be deceived by the real thing, because rock is less predictable than man-made holds screwed into a wall.

The rock at Mount Washington can seem firm - even under pressure - but "then you put a force onto it and it can open up and let go," Foster said.

In an incident in the same area on Mount Washington in 2000, two climbers fell after their equipment failed to hold, Morris said. They dropped more than 100 feet but survived, landing in deep snow.

In that case as well as last week's, climbers failed to adequately notify others of their plans, including the dates and times that they expected to depart and return, said Tim McCall, president of Eugene Mountain Rescue. The absence of that information hinders the rescuers' ability to respond quickly.

In the most recent accident, nearly a day passed between the climbers' expected return time and the first contact to rescuers, McCall said. In the earlier incident, two days passed before McCall and a partner happened upon the injured climbers while out on a climb.

"They hadn't told anybody and nobody was looking for them," he said. "They just lucked out that somebody stumbled upon them."

KNOW THE RISK

Iain Morris, a member of the Corvallis and Portland mountain rescue teams, assessed the risk on popular peaks in Oregon:

Mount Washington: South of Santiam Pass, elevation: 7,794 feet. The north ridge is the standard route; it requires ropes and steep rock climbing. Loose rock.

North Sister: Southwest of Sisters, elevation: 10,085 feet. Often underestimated. Standard southern route requires ropes and a steep traverse.

Middle Sister: Same area, elevation: 10,047 feet. Easier - almost a walk-up. Ropes are not required for standard northern route.

South Sister: Same area, elevation: 10,358 feet. Standard southern route is generally just a hike. Changing weather is a risk.

Mount Jefferson: East of Detroit, elevation: 10,497 feet. Widely considered hardest summit in Oregon Cascades. Requires rope and climbing experience. Must climb 300-foot pinnacle at top. Steep traverse with long falls is nerve-racking. Easiest route is southwest ridge.

Mount Hood: East of Portland, elevation: 11,240 feet. Southern route is easiest but requires crampons and ice axe; ropes recommended. Weather a factor.

Three Fingered Jack: North of Santiam Pass, elevation: 7,841 feet. Southern route is standard and requires technical ability.

Mount Thielsen: North of Crater Lake, elevation: 9,182 feet. Steep, technical climb with loose rock and scree.

Broken Top: Southwest of Sisters, elevation: 9,175 feet. Loose rock. Standard route is northwest ridge, with a stretch at top where rope is often used.