I get the feeling he thought "punching through" the obstacles would build the students' character. Most of the climbers were students and, therefore, did not enough status to be shared decision-makers. The leader probably made those students who turned back feel inadequate when in reality they were the ones who showed good judgement in terms of risk assessment. Group dynamics was probably why the others remained. The remaining students did not want to disappoint classmates and a trusted adult leader. The guide, not the teacher, should have held authority right from the beginning because he knew the weather conditions justified turning back.
I honestly can't believe a school had this as a REQUIREMENT!! I live in Alaska so I'm all about the outdoors. We did a TON of stuff in school, outside...I know there are safer ways to help with team building and such. Good lord...
Alaskan here to, people have gone missing another Marathon and that's only 2300 ft as far as daytime climbers they love to climb on the arm all the time I don't they don't think it's dangerous one 2 this traffic just glad that they took away their water hole on my 114
I actually flunked phys. ed. back in the 80s. Just couldn't do it. Since nobody in the county had a summer school program for phys. ed. I had to mandatorily volunteer to work for the Red Cross to get my grade up to D.
This was the comment I was going to make. Requiring ALL of ANY group of people to climb a mountain is insane. As a human being you have the right to refuse to do anything, although you might have to fight for that right, under some circumstances FIGHT.
Right! I took bowling for my P.E. credit. It was so much fun because we would meet at the bowling alley for first period, then drive back to school for 2nd period. We would smoke,drink,and make stops along the way! Easiest physical education credit ever!
I was born in Oregon and have lived here all of my 70 years. In my younger days l climbed anything l could get to and l must say, there are places in Oregon where you can disapear and never be found. Thank you for this story l remember very well when this happened. It was a totally unnecessary event that people havent learned from and keep repeating. You will never run out of material. Thanks again.
Local story for me (as was Mt. St. Helens) and I remember it well, too. So many mistakes made, so many bad decisions. If I remember right, the school was sued, as well it should be, although all the money in the world won't bring those children back. My oldest sons were around nine and almost eleven at the time and I remember feeling so bad for the parents, although to be honest, they probably bear a little responsibility themselves for allowing their kids to go in the first place, but I'm sure they trusted the teacher's and the school's judgment.
I live in western NC and it's the same way here. They filmed a lot of The last of the Mohicans in my area. When you drive up to the sight seeing places there's no where to go but down. If you go over the edge about anywhere unless someone sees it you just get swallowed up by the vegetation, it's a long way down and you could end up anywhere but dead because of how far down you'd go. Not to mention the wildlife, especially bears and mountain lions and wolves.
I've explored a few times at campgrounds in Washington and Oregon. You can find scenery to enjoy in the low lands. Once it gets steep on the sides, we turn around. It didn't make sense to go way up into the high areas where people can get lost. It isn't big time hiking, but it's still a nice, safe diversion.
This group allowed a half- blind young woman to descend the mountain by herself? Seriously? I'm no climbing expert, but even I know you do not allow even a healthy person to go down alone, even if it means the entire group turns around.
I'm actually still stunned by the reckless decision making of the lead hiker. I did Outward Bound during the summer between 10th and 11th grade. 21 days. Portaged/canoed from Northwestern Ontario to Manitoba and back. When you have any issues with adults on trips like that, you consider it a crisis right away, because you're not 30 minutes from a hospital. You're hours and hours away. Like use the satellite phone to give coordinates to get a helicopter sent to then fly the person to a hospital kind of hours away. So to have a team of minors, young teenagers, most of whom are totally inexperienced, and be willing to let so many turn back alone (a pair is virtually alone), despite knowing full well a storm is coming, just to keep pushing, even though you know you're not making time fast enough, on a mountain in winter of all places, is... Insanity. A total disregard for safety. It's actually stunning. When you plan a trip you need to plan for everything to go wrong. You can't assume it'll go as planned. It will not. I can assure you.
I knew some of the kids who died on the OES trip. My friend was on the climb, but he had to turn back early due to illness, just before the group became lost. He lived, but I could see how the tragedy of his friends' deaths haunted him. Jesus, even though thirty-six years have passed, I still choke up when I remember that appalling and unspeakable day.
I was a boarder and had to climb Mt Hood in 1984. I got hypothermia on the practice climb. Our group was the only one that made it up that year. I knew a couple of the kids from this tragedy too. Incredibly heartbreaking. I remember Giles. His older brother was a friend of mine. I can only imagine what they went through. So sad.
Another great #sinister story. The "Base Camp" program sounds like an awesome experience for a student to have. But, the hike leader shouldn't be able to risk the safety of everyone in his care by hiking when there was a threat of a storm.
I've climbed in Oregon and in the Sierra Nevadas. NEVER EVER dismiss the weather, signs of sickness or think that you're gonna "conquer" anything. The group should have taken care of their members as a group, not send anyone home by themselves. There's always somebody or group who thinks they can climb in anything or anywhere that's closed.
@@JCO2002 That's how most people pronounce it. I've never met someone who said they were from or-eh-gon. There probably are some, but it's not that common.
Climbed Mt. Hood and got hammered with my best friend and thankfully the colder it got after sunset, we had vodka to keep us warm and found a cave to keep warm and didn't die like a bunch of babies and woke up cold and hungover when the sun came up and found our way to the parking lot and slept it off... Only mistake they made was lack of liquid courage-
I lived in Portland Oregon for eight years and I was always baffled every winter when there would be news around some idiots who thought they’d‘conquer the mountain’ or decided to go on a trip during a blizzard and ended up dead. No way on earth would I be attempting to tramp up Mount Hood in a snowstorm!!
We see the same thing here in Arizona but with people who ignore heat warnings and go hiking without enough water. SAR has to deal with searches for them every year.
You told this story so well. I could feel the dread rising within my chest and catching in my throat. The lack of care and protection taken of those students is inexcusable, and horrifying. Jiles, you continue to surpass yourself, in storytelling as well as editing. *stands* Bravo!
I completely agree, very well told. That said, I felt like I was missing something because I sincerely thought that “Tom” the Teacher/organizer? pushed those kids way too hard, and should have been held to account!!
It looks like a pretty serious mountain to me. But so often it's the weather rather than the mountain. The highest peak in Scotland is only 1344 meters but the weather can be horrific at that altitude.
Great job with the narration! What always gets me about these stories is how one stupid or cocky person can endanger not only their own life and those of everyone in their party, but also the lives of the rescuers who have to go looking for them. This incident is particularly infuriating. Every one of those kids should by rights still be alive today.
Ego and or money will always be at the route of trouble. This was a teacher and a group of school kids but it reminded me in so many ways of the total disaster that was Everest 1n 1996. Seasoned professional climbers as guides, a bunch of Sherpas as support and yet they too got caught by weather and 12 people died. It's not just that Everest was so high, any mountain can be a nightmare in bad weather, Mt Washington in New Hampshire held the record for the highest recorded wind gust for over 60 years, 231 mph. It's not even 2000 meters but has horrible wind chills
I absolutely love that you’ve focused on the PNW. It’s my home and I spend as much time as I can exploring the outdoors here, and I enjoy hearing about its sinister-ness.
@@rcjames4 It really depends on what you like to do. We have hundreds of miles of beaches (The Coast), lakes and rivers for any kind of water adventure, hundreds of waterfalls, hidden trails, high desert, volcanic fields, amazing vineyards and wineries, hot springs, wild horses, snow skiing/boarding, water-skiing and wakeboarding, white water rafting, rodeos, great camping, fishing, deep sea fishing, Dungeness crab fishing, hiking is amazing, rock climbing, amazing food, art. The Columbia River Gorge, Bend and Redmond, The Oregon Coast are must see adventures. Over 98,000 sq miles of things to choose from.
@@rcjames4 I’m more of an Oregon person so I don’t know as much about WA. Depending on when you want to go, all your options change. Where and when? Then I can give more info. Just a very loose piece of advice, I’d personally stay in OR, an equal distance away from the beach and Mt Hood, then you can get a good variety of activities. But I’m partial to Mt Hood. Travel down south in OR and you can hit Crater Lake and all the surrounding activities.
I will never understand the absolute disregard for the power and danger of the mountains/snow/elevation. It's not there to conquer. Just be smart and appreciate the beauty of it from below.
Never ever assume that you'll beat the weather in OR. It'll come back to bite you every time. Used to do a lot of mountain biking in the Cascades and Willamette Valley. We always carried survival gear regardless of the "weather forecast". Came in handy more than once when the ride went to sh*t and poured down for the last 3 hrs of it and you were seeing your breath in July.
This narrorator is amazing! I can't hear any accent whatsoever from any us region. Perhaps he's Midwestern since that is how I think I sound.. no matter, his inflection is emotional and he's got great pacing. Once viewers know about this channel the count will jump up. Thanks for all you do!
Never underestimate the weather in Oregon especially when you're going mountain climbing when one person gets sick and goes back to base camp everybody should go back I see a lot of mistakes it's really sad because of one person's mistake puts everybody in jeopardy
I was in a youth group called T.R.E.C. in Seattle. My friend told me of this groups fate as a cautionary tale before snow camping. I never got sleep that night.
I have listened to your videos for 2+ years now and this one has me shook. You have a gift with your story telling! I have listened to the most gruesome of your stories and this is just leaves a pit in my stomach. It's was such a heartbreaking and preventable disaster
This story is just terrifying! 🥺 I live in Minnesota, so I understand some about winter weather and cold, but adding mountain heights and storms is just way overwhelming!
I love your videos. They are always full of information. It is never smart to dismiss imminent bad weather. You are given a warning about coming bad weather for a reason
How could anyone responsible for kids, or anyone else for that matter, be so irresponsible! I hope all school staff involved in this got fired immediately.
Mount Shasta is pretty darn creepy and has had many missing people problems! I’m from Idaho, surrounded by the waha and the blue mountains. Nestled in a valley the snake river is right outside my front door! Beautiful place to live but ya gotta be prepared to take on the mountains!
Jiles you took us for quite a frightful journey! R.I.P to the victims. This shows us not to follow like sheep to a slaughter. Know your personal abilities well. A side note for the so called Guides you can't fix stoopid!
This was a very sad story! The fact that kids died doing something they believed was seen as bravery and what not. The narrator is right, the adults knew the weather was going to turn out horrible but they shrugged it off thinking they'd make it up and down in time. The problem is, we're human and as such we are suckers to delays always. It was truly better to be safe than sorry in this situation. May their young souls easy👼
This is so sad. I raised my kids in Portland and their school was down the street from OR Episcopal school. Makes me cry but we can learn from others' mistakes. Thanks!
I lived in Vancouver WA. across the river from Portland OR and Mt. Hood is a popular recreation site. It felt like all of Portland, Vancouver and the surrounding areas were holding our breath and praying for a miracle. For the longest time it was a topic of debate as to who was at fault if anyone. I'm Happy to hear that the survivors are both doing well. Amazing how life's traumas can help to decide your future and all that it holds. It seems so recent yet it has literally been decades.
Born and raised in Oregon, it is truly the most beautiful place in he States…. Don’t forget Eugene, Oregon …. Saturday Market , Fall Creek, Hot Springs, Ken Kesey and Merry Pranksters…
I absolutely LOVE this channel! I live in north east Oregon, so it's always nice to hear about things that are close to where you live! I've been a HUGE fan of, "This is Monsters" since the very beginning, so it's always nice to hear the same great voice on 2 different channels! Keep up the amazing work!!!
I agree with you at the end there. I think that instructor was 100% at fault for the deaths. I hike a long and you always, always check the weather report. You don't fuck around with that, especially snowy conditions. He knew and he had a bunch of inexperienced hikers with him. Groups are only as fast as the slowest member. Perhaps he could've personally gone up and back before the storm hit but a bunch of kids? Are you kidding? Shame on him.
Lived in the Sierra Nevadas for many years. Lived on a island chain for a few years in the Atlantic. Both places taught me something: If you know a storm is coming; prepare. Don't go out in it.
I'm from the east coast ad even I know Hood is famous for huge amounts of snow. You can exhaust yourself walking in knee high snow. Every year the worlds most experienced climbers go to Everest and every year but 2020 someone has died. The number one cause is weather. So they take a bunch of school kids up with weather coming in. It's not as high for sure but a white out is a whiteout.
Jiles!👋🏼(fellow monsters👋🏼 sinister listeners👋🏼) Thank you for the upload Jiles!!! 🙏🙏🙏💛😆 I remember sky King wanting to go fly around Mount Olympus. He could see it in the distance and was commenting on how beautiful it was! Rip Sky King
Great job telling the story. There is a complete documentary on this called Disaster on Mt Hood. I've climbed a few mountains and people have to remember the summit is going anywhere. Mother Nature is in control. Don't try to race bad weather, you'll lose 90% of the time.
Portland here. I remember when this happened. What a tragedy. The Pacific Northwest is incredibly beautiful. Breathtaking. And equally dangerous. Mt. Hood and the rain forests have claimed many lives...so many lives. 🌹
I live in Bend, Oregon. This story is wild! I wish people would take the mountains serious... Thank you for another awesome story! I love this channel and This is Monsters!
Reminds me of Willi Unsoeld back in 1979 when he and a group from Evergreen State College had a similar tragedy on Mt. Rainier. He and Tom Hornbein put up a new route on Everest which included a traverse. They did it with little help as the main effort was to support Jim Whitaker.
If you have never experienced time in the PNW, especially The Olympic Peninsula, you have missed a very pristine and wild place. Almost every animal one can name lives in the Olympic National Park .
Yes! New SS episode! Your videos are so well researched and will put together. I drove all the way from Idaho to Texas a couple weeks ago and thankfully I had THIS IS MONSTERS and SS to keep me sane 🤣
Whoop whoop I live in the Mt Hood National forest and shred the slopes of Mt hood all the time. I'm a professional skier all thanks to growing up on Mt Hood
Another awesome episode! Got happy when I saw it in my notifications! I feel so bad for those youth. They never should've gone knowing about that weather coming. Anything can happen when a storm is on its way. Something that important shouldn't be taken lightly. Storm patterns can change quickly; precaution is vital. I can imagine, too, what the people who went back early thought later when word of the event caught up with them. Thank you so much for this awesome channel! (Yes, Giles is a cool name!) 😎
My BF and I got stuck on MT Hood for a night. We were in a truck. We had all the correct gear supplies. Even with the heat on it was cold. It was the first time I ever saw a white out. I love Mt Hood. I can see it from my window. I was 20 when those 9 people died. Mother nature does what she wants.
Better safe than sorry is truly accurate when you take on a mountain! I nearly died on Mt Whitney 3 years ago for my lack of proper supplies. Be safe and climb on!
This tragedy was totally avoidable, the group leader ignored the weather forecast and vastly overestimated the ability of the children in his charge. It's like he had summit fever and didn't look out for signs of hypothermia, this is vital. Generating body heat through movement can lower a casualty's core temperature rather than raise it.
"Generating body heat through movement can lower core temperature rather than raise it" - this is fascinating. I've never heard this before. Is it from the increased breathing and sweating? Or maybe the movement stimulates blood flow to the extremities?
@@kevinmathewson4272 I'm not an expert but I have some experience of cold climates and altitude, the following is what I was taught. As hypothermia develops blood flow to the extremities is restricted in order to keep the vital organs in the body's core functioning. Under extreme conditions, exercise opens up blood vessels to increase circulation for muscle function, this increased blood flow robs the core of warm blood, much like the radiator in your car functions, cooling it in the same way. The casualty can lose extremities,(fingers or toes usually) to frostbite but at least they survive. Lincoln Hall survived for 24 hours at 8,700m alone and without shelter on Mt Everest, he was rescued just sitting in the snow inactive, having undergone paradoxical undressing. Events similar to Mt Hood occurred in the Cairngorms in Scotland in 1971, maybe this originator will cover it at some stage.
Yet the question remains, why ignoring and not adhering to the weather conditions occurred? By whose authority was this decision granted? Was it solely just upon one person? At what point did someone question the safety of this before it occurred?
As a parent of teen boys my heart is broken for them ,, ughhhhh 💔I was 6 when this happened and my mother was a nurse at Emanuel when this happened and came home just broken and crying for hours
What on earth - by the time the second person had to turn back, the leader certainly should have known to turn around. HOW many folks had to turn back before he made a decision to turn around? Good Lord. I have done a lot of (non-technical) climbing, and not always in perfect weather. I love winter. To be honest, I think I have turned back as often as I have summited the mountain. The mountain will still be there another day. The climbing is the point - the summit is just a bonus.
I understand and enjoy all of your stories. I would occasionally love to hear in your voice something that ends with “the old dog had saved all 7 of the children and he went on to live a happy life.” Or something similar. A happy ending. Again, I am an avid listener of all of your videos.
As a pacific northwester, I thought I knew where this was going cuz there’s another incident of a rescue helicopter that crashed on the mountain. But I hadn’t heard this story although I’ve been to timberline and meadows and OES was the yearly lacrosse champion otherwise nobody knew the school existed cuz it was elite and private
As I child, I knew Lt. Col. David Mullen and Master Sergeant Richard "Bagger" Harder personally. My mother worked at the air base and I spent many hours there. Bagger was the one who knew where to find the kids. He had trained on that mountain so many times, he knew where they'd be. He earned the nickname Bagger because his first 24 missions or so resulted in zero live rescues. Even with that much death in his mission history, he and Mullen both agreed this was one of the worst missions they ever had the displeasure of running. Bagger died in 1996 when I was just 8 years old, but I'll always remember the hero he was, and the hero he refused to claim. He was a good man. He saved over 300 people in his career. His death hit us all really hard though, and the hits kept coming. He died the day before King 56 happened, where we lost 10 more 304s. It was a hard week for us. But I'll always remember his laugh and his smile as he'd say "Who loves ya, baby?!"
I’ve climbed this mountain and hiked the surrounding trails, can be very dangerous when playing with weather in high places, just one mistake is all it takes. Incredible ice climbing on Mt. Hood.
I lived in front of Mt.Baker in WA, & tge amount of ppl we would find during a warm summer, frozen in the mountain was crazy, 1 yr they found 7 ppl & a WW2 plane crashed in the side! This is a tough story, thanks for Sharing
Whether it's on land air or sea disasters usually start with somebody ignoring the weather report
As of meteorologists know what they're talking about, why listen?
It's like actively running to a serial killer.
@@TashaBryanRENegade these days they're pretty good
@@kevinmathewson4272 oh I know. I always follow weather warnings. Seems the more money, the less is believed.
Jesus. Not shure about that. The usually part....still hilarious. It's like...they say man we got this ...and titanic happened
@@timoneill4347 unsinkable, my ass.
Three and a half minutes in and I’m already pissed off. That teacher could have postponed that hike with minimal issues.
I get the feeling he thought "punching through" the obstacles would build the students' character. Most of the climbers were students and, therefore, did not enough status to be shared decision-makers. The leader probably made those students who turned back feel inadequate when in reality they were the ones who showed good judgement in terms of risk assessment. Group dynamics was probably why the others remained. The remaining students did not want to disappoint classmates and a trusted adult leader. The guide, not the teacher, should have held authority right from the beginning because he knew the weather conditions justified turning back.
I honestly can't believe a school had this as a REQUIREMENT!! I live in Alaska so I'm all about the outdoors. We did a TON of stuff in school, outside...I know there are safer ways to help with team building and such. Good lord...
They can't even make the kids play dodgeball anymore. Nevermind climb a mountain in the snow.
Alaskan here to, people have gone missing another Marathon and that's only 2300 ft as far as daytime climbers they love to climb on the arm all the time I don't they don't think it's dangerous one 2 this traffic just glad that they took away their water hole on my 114
I actually flunked phys. ed. back in the 80s. Just couldn't do it. Since nobody in the county had a summer school program for phys. ed. I had to mandatorily volunteer to work for the Red Cross to get my grade up to D.
This was the comment I was going to make. Requiring ALL of ANY group of people to climb a mountain is insane. As a human being you have the right to refuse to do anything, although you might have to fight for that right, under some circumstances FIGHT.
Right! I took bowling for my P.E. credit. It was so much fun because we would meet at the bowling alley for first period, then drive back to school for 2nd period. We would smoke,drink,and make stops along the way! Easiest physical education credit ever!
I was born in Oregon and have lived here all of my 70 years. In my younger days l climbed anything l could get to and l must say, there are places in Oregon where you can disapear and never be found. Thank you for this story l remember very well when this happened. It was a totally unnecessary event that people havent learned from and keep repeating. You will never run out of material. Thanks again.
Glad you’ve reached your 70’s and I couldn’t agree with you more.
Local story for me (as was Mt. St. Helens) and I remember it well, too. So many mistakes made, so many bad decisions. If I remember right, the school was sued, as well it should be, although all the money in the world won't bring those children back. My oldest sons were around nine and almost eleven at the time and I remember feeling so bad for the parents, although to be honest, they probably bear a little responsibility themselves for allowing their kids to go in the first place, but I'm sure they trusted the teacher's and the school's judgment.
I live in western NC and it's the same way here. They filmed a lot of The last of the Mohicans in my area. When you drive up to the sight seeing places there's no where to go but down. If you go over the edge about anywhere unless someone sees it you just get swallowed up by the vegetation, it's a long way down and you could end up anywhere but dead because of how far down you'd go. Not to mention the wildlife, especially bears and mountain lions and wolves.
I've explored a few times at campgrounds in Washington and Oregon. You can find scenery to enjoy in the low lands. Once it gets steep on the sides, we turn around. It didn't make sense to go way up into the high areas where people can get lost. It isn't big time hiking, but it's still a nice, safe diversion.
"You will never run out of material" ... so sad but so true.
This group allowed a half- blind young woman to descend the mountain by herself? Seriously?
I'm no climbing expert, but even I know you do not allow even a healthy person to go down alone, even if it means the entire group turns around.
That struck me, too, especially since they hadn't allowed another girl to go back alone previously.
I'm also stunned by the fact, that she somehow didn't get lost and die in the blizzard.
I'm actually still stunned by the reckless decision making of the lead hiker. I did Outward Bound during the summer between 10th and 11th grade. 21 days. Portaged/canoed from Northwestern Ontario to Manitoba and back.
When you have any issues with adults on trips like that, you consider it a crisis right away, because you're not 30 minutes from a hospital. You're hours and hours away. Like use the satellite phone to give coordinates to get a helicopter sent to then fly the person to a hospital kind of hours away.
So to have a team of minors, young teenagers, most of whom are totally inexperienced, and be willing to let so many turn back alone (a pair is virtually alone), despite knowing full well a storm is coming, just to keep pushing, even though you know you're not making time fast enough, on a mountain in winter of all places, is... Insanity. A total disregard for safety.
It's actually stunning. When you plan a trip you need to plan for everything to go wrong. You can't assume it'll go as planned. It will not. I can assure you.
You are 100% correct. Ralph here should have been charged and sued. Seriously.
@@schrisdellopoulos9244 the idiot school chaplain Tom Gorman should have also been sued.
Bro, they didn't have satellite phones in 1986.
@@echofoxtrot2.051 I have absolutely no clue what you're talking about.
they climbed in May not winter but it doesnt matter on a mountain it might as well been winter
I knew some of the kids who died on the OES trip. My friend was on the climb, but he had to turn back early due to illness, just before the group became lost. He lived, but I could see how the tragedy of his friends' deaths haunted him. Jesus, even though thirty-six years have passed, I still choke up when I remember that appalling and unspeakable day.
What is so ironic is that it was entirely preventable. I hope and pray that your friend finds peace of mind.
I was a boarder and had to climb Mt Hood in 1984. I got hypothermia on the practice climb. Our group was the only one that made it up that year. I knew a couple of the kids from this tragedy too. Incredibly heartbreaking. I remember Giles. His older brother was a friend of mine. I can only imagine what they went through. So sad.
Another great #sinister story. The "Base Camp" program sounds like an awesome experience for a student to have. But, the hike leader shouldn't be able to risk the safety of everyone in his care by hiking when there was a threat of a storm.
I 100% agree this guy sounded like he let his ego get the best of him and that cost children their life.
It's the unexpected that happens many times but they knew a storm was on the way so sad prayers sent 🙏🙏
I've climbed in Oregon and in the Sierra Nevadas. NEVER EVER dismiss the weather, signs of sickness or think that you're gonna "conquer" anything. The group should have taken care of their members as a group, not send anyone home by themselves. There's always somebody or group who thinks they can climb in anything or anywhere that's closed.
Ahh, so that's where it is. Why is he calling it "Organ"?
@@JCO2002 That's how most people pronounce it. I've never met someone who said they were from or-eh-gon. There probably are some, but it's not that common.
😒
@@marszenka Ok, thanks. Never been to the US, but have seen Oregon on a map south of British Columbia. I always assumed it was pronounced as spelled.
Climbed Mt. Hood and got hammered with my best friend and thankfully the colder it got after sunset, we had vodka to keep us warm and found a cave to keep warm and didn't die like a bunch of babies and woke up cold and hungover when the sun came up and found our way to the parking lot and slept it off... Only mistake they made was lack of liquid courage-
I lived in Portland Oregon for eight years and I was always baffled every winter when there would be news around some idiots who thought they’d‘conquer the mountain’ or decided to go on a trip during a blizzard and ended up dead. No way on earth would I be attempting to tramp up Mount Hood in a snowstorm!!
There will unfortunately always be Darwin Awards candidates who think that they are invincible until they find out otherwise the hard way 🤷♂️
We see the same thing here in Arizona but with people who ignore heat warnings and go hiking without enough water. SAR has to deal with searches for them every year.
they didn't climb in winter they climbed in May it was spring blizzard that hit the mountains
You told this story so well. I could feel the dread rising within my chest and catching in my throat. The lack of care and protection taken of those students is inexcusable, and horrifying.
Jiles, you continue to surpass yourself, in storytelling as well as editing. *stands* Bravo!
❤️well said, and right there with you xo
@@natalie9884 Thank you! 😊
👏 here here.
I completely agree, very well told. That said, I felt like I was missing something because I sincerely thought that “Tom” the Teacher/organizer? pushed those kids way too hard, and should have been held to account!!
Totally agree and I can't get enough of hearing this man's voice he has such an amazing voice
Living in Oregon, it shocks me how many people don’t take Mt Hood seriously! Thanks for another rad video!
They do that here in Alaska as well I know the marathon is only 3,200 feet but I can't tell you how many people get lost on the other side
It looks like a pretty serious mountain to me. But so often it's the weather rather than the mountain. The highest peak in Scotland is only 1344 meters but the weather can be horrific at that altitude.
I keep reading about Mt. Hood being particularly dangerous.
“Better safe than sorry method” 😂 No joke! It works every time all day long! 🤩
I felt as if I was there watching this in my imagination. I've never heard about this incident, this story was truly terrifying.
Yes, and I highly recommend watching "touching the void" completely glued and mesmerized. movie/documentary/recreation type story.
Great job with the narration!
What always gets me about these stories is how one stupid or cocky person can endanger not only their own life and those of everyone in their party, but also the lives of the rescuers who have to go looking for them. This incident is particularly infuriating. Every one of those kids should by rights still be alive today.
You're 100% correct. Ralph here was negligent. He should have been charged and sued. Seriously.
Ego and or money will always be at the route of trouble. This was a teacher and a group of school kids but it reminded me in so many ways of the total disaster that was Everest 1n 1996. Seasoned professional climbers as guides, a bunch of Sherpas as support and yet they too got caught by weather and 12 people died. It's not just that Everest was so high, any mountain can be a nightmare in bad weather, Mt Washington in New Hampshire held the record for the highest recorded wind gust for over 60 years, 231 mph. It's not even 2000 meters but has horrible wind chills
I absolutely love that you’ve focused on the PNW. It’s my home and I spend as much time as I can exploring the outdoors here, and I enjoy hearing about its sinister-ness.
where are some good places to go? I'm an east side guy, NJ and now SC. I have always wanted to venture over to the nw
@@rcjames4 It really depends on what you like to do. We have hundreds of miles of beaches (The Coast), lakes and rivers for any kind of water adventure, hundreds of waterfalls, hidden trails, high desert, volcanic fields, amazing vineyards and wineries, hot springs, wild horses, snow skiing/boarding, water-skiing and wakeboarding, white water rafting, rodeos, great camping, fishing, deep sea fishing, Dungeness crab fishing, hiking is amazing, rock climbing, amazing food, art. The Columbia River Gorge, Bend and Redmond, The Oregon Coast are must see adventures. Over 98,000 sq miles of things to choose from.
@@rcjames4 I’m more of an Oregon person so I don’t know as much about WA. Depending on when you want to go, all your options change. Where and when? Then I can give more info. Just a very loose piece of advice, I’d personally stay in OR, an equal distance away from the beach and Mt Hood, then you can get a good variety of activities. But I’m partial to Mt Hood. Travel down south in OR and you can hit Crater Lake and all the surrounding activities.
I'd hire you at the tourism board IMMEDIATELY!!😆🇬🇧
@@ktcooki276 I was born here, lived in NYC, raised in Alaska...came back to Oregon. Love Alaska as much as Oregon. 😂
Some of the best curated, sequenced, and synched accompanying video I have seen in an outdoor survival UA-cam video.
Being a Cascade brat I love Mt. Hood. We've got lots of volcanoes here. Fun to ride down on a board. Mt. Baker is my favorite.
I love the opening to Somewhere Sinister, it really fits something sinister.
No shit, Dick Tracy
@Mrs.K I do, too! The theme music is awesome! 🎶
Another amazing video! As a Oregonian, it's very interesting to hear this story. I've never heard it before!
I will never understand the absolute disregard for the power and danger of the mountains/snow/elevation.
It's not there to conquer. Just be smart and appreciate the beauty of it from below.
Never ever assume that you'll beat the weather in OR. It'll come back to bite you every time. Used to do a lot of mountain biking in the Cascades and Willamette Valley. We always carried survival gear regardless of the "weather forecast". Came in handy more than once when the ride went to sh*t and poured down for the last 3 hrs of it and you were seeing your breath in July.
This channel should have way more views... just keep on doing what you are doing - you seem to put a ton of effort in. Do not get dissuaded.
It's only 3 months old with nearly 40k subs and 888k views.
This narrorator is amazing! I can't hear any accent whatsoever from any us region. Perhaps he's Midwestern since that is how I think I sound.. no matter, his inflection is emotional and he's got great pacing. Once viewers know about this channel the count will jump up. Thanks for all you do!
@@amandahugginkiss55 he has other crime related channels ya know. This is just their newest. This is MONSTERS has like 500k subs.
@@JourneysADRIFT I know. I've watched monsters for years. Thx
He's got another Channel as well and it's called monsters it is good I've been there since day one I love his narrating
Jiles is a fabulous name 😎
Excellent video as usual. I remember when this happened. Superb coverage and storytelling.
Never underestimate the weather in Oregon especially when you're going mountain climbing when one person gets sick and goes back to base camp everybody should go back I see a lot of mistakes it's really sad because of one person's mistake puts everybody in jeopardy
I always like the video before it's even started because i just know it's joining to be great
You've outdone yourself once again.
Always somewhere Sinister and the PNW was a great place to start.
I was in a youth group called T.R.E.C. in Seattle. My friend told me of this groups fate as a cautionary tale before snow camping. I never got sleep that night.
I can’t believe the leader of this group would risk the lives of teens. He’s a horrible leader and irresponsible.
@@gabrielamartiniuc6322 agree!
I have listened to your videos for 2+ years now and this one has me shook. You have a gift with your story telling! I have listened to the most gruesome of your stories and this is just leaves a pit in my stomach. It's was such a heartbreaking and preventable disaster
This story is just terrifying! 🥺 I live in Minnesota, so I understand some about winter weather and cold, but adding mountain heights and storms is just way overwhelming!
Good one! I’m fascinated by mountaineering and the disasters that are destined to happen.
That was an awesome episode….a case I had never heard of. Bravo…
I appreciate the visuals on this one and the way you go back and forth in time. I can see mt Hood from my balcony and it’s nothing to sneeze at.
I love your videos. They are always full of information. It is never smart to dismiss imminent bad weather. You are given a warning about coming bad weather for a reason
How could anyone responsible for kids, or anyone else for that matter, be so irresponsible! I hope all school staff involved in this got fired immediately.
I get so excited for new videos in this series!
Moral of the story: ALWAYS trust your gut. This is so scary
Mount Shasta is pretty darn creepy and has had many missing people problems! I’m from Idaho, surrounded by the waha and the blue mountains. Nestled in a valley the snake river is right outside my front door! Beautiful place to live but ya gotta be prepared to take on the mountains!
Years ago, my boyfriend and I climbed both Mt Shasta and Mt Hood. Great experience, but yeah, you have to respect the mountain!
Related to Pat? :)
Jiles you took us for quite a frightful journey! R.I.P to the victims. This shows us not to follow like sheep to a slaughter. Know your personal abilities well. A side note for the so called Guides you can't fix stoopid!
This was a very sad story! The fact that kids died doing something they believed was seen as bravery and what not.
The narrator is right, the adults knew the weather was going to turn out horrible but they shrugged it off thinking they'd make it up and down in time. The problem is, we're human and as such we are suckers to delays always.
It was truly better to be safe than sorry in this situation. May their young souls easy👼
This is just tragic!!! RIP all who lost their lives on this mountain!
This is so sad. I raised my kids in Portland and their school was down the street from OR Episcopal school. Makes me cry but we can learn from others' mistakes. Thanks!
I lived in Vancouver WA. across the river from Portland OR and Mt. Hood is a popular recreation site. It felt like all of Portland, Vancouver and the surrounding areas were holding our breath and praying for a miracle. For the longest time it was a topic of debate as to who was at fault if anyone. I'm Happy to hear that the survivors are both doing well. Amazing how life's traumas can help to decide your future and all that it holds. It seems so recent yet it has literally been decades.
Good way to describe the mood as we all waited for word to dribble out; I remember being glued to KGW 😕
Born and raised in Oregon, it is truly the most beautiful place in he States…. Don’t forget Eugene, Oregon …. Saturday Market , Fall Creek, Hot Springs, Ken Kesey and Merry Pranksters…
I absolutely LOVE this channel! I live in north east Oregon, so it's always nice to hear about things that are close to where you live! I've been a HUGE fan of, "This is Monsters" since the very beginning, so it's always nice to hear the same great voice on 2 different channels! Keep up the amazing work!!!
I can't even imagine how horrifying this must have been. Totally preventable and tragic.
I agree with you at the end there. I think that instructor was 100% at fault for the deaths. I hike a long and you always, always check the weather report. You don't fuck around with that, especially snowy conditions. He knew and he had a bunch of inexperienced hikers with him. Groups are only as fast as the slowest member. Perhaps he could've personally gone up and back before the storm hit but a bunch of kids? Are you kidding? Shame on him.
I get an eyeful of this mountain everytime I go outside lol
You're lucky.
Lived in the Sierra Nevadas for many years.
Lived on a island chain for a few years in the Atlantic.
Both places taught me something: If you know a storm is coming; prepare.
Don't go out in it.
I'm from the east coast ad even I know Hood is famous for huge amounts of snow. You can exhaust yourself walking in knee high snow. Every year the worlds most experienced climbers go to Everest and every year but 2020 someone has died. The number one cause is weather. So they take a bunch of school kids up with weather coming in. It's not as high for sure but a white out is a whiteout.
Jiles!👋🏼(fellow monsters👋🏼 sinister listeners👋🏼) Thank you for the upload Jiles!!! 🙏🙏🙏💛😆
I remember sky King wanting to go fly around Mount Olympus. He could see it in the distance and was commenting on how beautiful it was!
Rip Sky King
Hiii Sarah 🤗
@@kacey5324 HEY YOU!!!! 👋🏼🤗
How goes it?
👋 to Sarah Lee
@@GuarDeannAngel 👋🏼 deanna! Hows are u????
Great job telling the story. There is a complete documentary on this called Disaster on Mt Hood. I've climbed a few mountains and people have to remember the summit is going anywhere. Mother Nature is in control. Don't try to race bad weather, you'll lose 90% of the time.
Because you are excellent at pronouncing various places in Canada, I am making you an honorary Canadian.
This show is very well done, I like the fact that the first season is focused on the PNW where I live.
So many stories…
@@SomewhereSinister
Yeah I really love your storytelling. 💯👌🏾💯
The school leader is fully to blame. With bad weather forecast possible it was so irresponsible to go ahead with the hike.
My step aunt and uncle died on mt hood around 2000. Kerry and Tina cardon 😓 rip never think you’re more qualified than the weather
Apparently he wasn't experienced enough...... thanks jibes for another great vid. Fan from Ontario Canada 🇨🇦
Portland here. I remember when this happened. What a tragedy. The Pacific Northwest is incredibly beautiful. Breathtaking. And equally dangerous. Mt. Hood and the rain forests have claimed many lives...so many lives. 🌹
I live in Bend, Oregon. This story is wild! I wish people would take the mountains serious...
Thank you for another awesome story! I love this channel and This is Monsters!
Reminds me of Willi Unsoeld back in 1979 when he and a group from Evergreen State College had a similar tragedy on Mt. Rainier. He and Tom Hornbein put up a new route on Everest which included a traverse. They did it with little help as the main effort was to support Jim Whitaker.
i absolutely love this series! this was such a good story, so so sad.
If you have never experienced time in the PNW, especially The Olympic Peninsula, you have missed a very pristine and wild place. Almost every animal one can name lives
in the Olympic National Park .
I had never heard this story even though I live in between mt hood and Portland. Storytelling at its finest!!
i lived very near there when it happened !! great job, JILES !!!
Yes! New SS episode! Your videos are so well researched and will put together. I drove all the way from Idaho to Texas a couple weeks ago and thankfully I had THIS IS MONSTERS and SS to keep me sane 🤣
Whoop whoop I live in the Mt Hood National forest and shred the slopes of Mt hood all the time. I'm a professional skier all thanks to growing up on Mt Hood
Another awesome episode! Got happy when I saw it in my notifications! I feel so bad for those youth. They never should've gone knowing about that weather coming. Anything can happen when a storm is on its way. Something that important shouldn't be taken lightly. Storm patterns can change quickly; precaution is vital. I can imagine, too, what the people who went back early thought later when word of the event caught up with them. Thank you so much for this awesome channel! (Yes, Giles is a cool name!) 😎
good one mate,you're a good narrator. greetings from aussie land and keep up the good work,
My BF and I got stuck on MT Hood for a night. We were in a truck. We had all the correct gear supplies. Even with the heat on it was cold. It was the first time I ever saw a white out. I love Mt Hood. I can see it from my window. I was 20 when those 9 people died. Mother nature does what she wants.
Mother nature just is. It's people that do what they want and suffer the consequence
So what 🥱
@@aaroncarter5322 Chicken butt?
@@aaroncarter5322 ⬅childish
5:27 nice lil moment you added there.
Better safe than sorry is truly accurate when you take on a mountain! I nearly died on Mt Whitney 3 years ago for my lack of proper supplies. Be safe and climb on!
I hike Hood all the time.I can see it out my windows. It's no joke.
I love this series. Better written and more substantial than your other work. ❤
This tragedy was totally avoidable, the group leader ignored the weather forecast and vastly overestimated the ability of the children in his charge. It's like he had summit fever and didn't look out for signs of hypothermia, this is vital. Generating body heat through movement can lower a casualty's core temperature rather than raise it.
Were this children as in minors or adults?
@@ayomidelI'm sorry I don't understand your question.
"Generating body heat through movement can lower core temperature rather than raise it" - this is fascinating. I've never heard this before. Is it from the increased breathing and sweating? Or maybe the movement stimulates blood flow to the extremities?
@@kevinmathewson4272 I'm not an expert but I have some experience of cold climates and altitude, the following is what I was taught. As hypothermia develops blood flow to the extremities is restricted in order to keep the vital organs in the body's core functioning. Under extreme conditions, exercise opens up blood vessels to increase circulation for muscle function, this increased blood flow robs the core of warm blood, much like the radiator in your car functions, cooling it in the same way. The casualty can lose extremities,(fingers or toes usually) to frostbite but at least they survive. Lincoln Hall survived for 24 hours at 8,700m alone and without shelter on Mt Everest, he was rescued just sitting in the snow inactive, having undergone paradoxical undressing. Events similar to Mt Hood occurred in the Cairngorms in Scotland in 1971, maybe this originator will cover it at some stage.
Yet the question remains, why ignoring and not adhering to the weather conditions occurred? By whose authority was this decision granted? Was it solely just upon one person? At what point did someone question the safety of this before it occurred?
The groups “Leader” was definitely 100% at fault here. As a parent there is no way I would be saying, “Welp, Mother Nature is unpredictable!” 🤪 FOH
As a parent of teen boys my heart is broken for them ,, ughhhhh 💔I was 6 when this happened and my mother was a nurse at Emanuel when this happened and came home just broken and crying for hours
I could listen to you talk about horrible stuff all day. Your voice is like velvet. 👏👏
I'm really enjoying this series! Longer episodes requested 😊
Thank you as always
What on earth - by the time the second person had to turn back, the leader certainly should have known to turn around.
HOW many folks had to turn back before he made a decision to turn around? Good Lord.
I have done a lot of (non-technical) climbing, and not always in perfect weather. I love winter. To be honest, I think I have turned back as often as I have summited the mountain. The mountain will still be there another day. The climbing is the point - the summit is just a bonus.
I love the Pacific NW. I grew up in Saginaw!!
I love all your channels. But this NW inclusive is close to home for me. Keep up the amazing work!!!
My refrigerator looks like something sinister. Needs cleaning.
I understand and enjoy all of your stories. I would occasionally love to hear in your voice something that ends with “the old dog had saved all 7 of the children and he went on to live a happy life.” Or something similar. A happy ending. Again, I am an avid listener of all of your videos.
Amazing the amount of detail you and your team get Giles
Fantastic episode. Thanks for posting.
As a pacific northwester, I thought I knew where this was going cuz there’s another incident of a rescue helicopter that crashed on the mountain. But I hadn’t heard this story although I’ve been to timberline and meadows and OES was the yearly lacrosse champion otherwise nobody knew the school existed cuz it was elite and private
I loved this you do great spinster shows lol
I live in the shadow of Mt. Hood. It still claims lives every year.
Loved this one, would love some more mountaineering videos!
Amazing story! Love your channels/shows/podcasts
As I child, I knew Lt. Col. David Mullen and Master Sergeant Richard "Bagger" Harder personally. My mother worked at the air base and I spent many hours there. Bagger was the one who knew where to find the kids. He had trained on that mountain so many times, he knew where they'd be. He earned the nickname Bagger because his first 24 missions or so resulted in zero live rescues. Even with that much death in his mission history, he and Mullen both agreed this was one of the worst missions they ever had the displeasure of running. Bagger died in 1996 when I was just 8 years old, but I'll always remember the hero he was, and the hero he refused to claim. He was a good man. He saved over 300 people in his career.
His death hit us all really hard though, and the hits kept coming. He died the day before King 56 happened, where we lost 10 more 304s. It was a hard week for us. But I'll always remember his laugh and his smile as he'd say "Who loves ya, baby?!"
Love both channels and this is absolutely great storytelling.
I’ve climbed this mountain and hiked the surrounding trails, can be very dangerous when playing with weather in high places, just one mistake is all it takes. Incredible ice climbing on Mt. Hood.
I lived in front of Mt.Baker in WA, & tge amount of ppl we would find during a warm summer, frozen in the mountain was crazy, 1 yr they found 7 ppl & a WW2 plane crashed in the side! This is a tough story, thanks for Sharing
I love both of your channels I love your narrations
I’m just in love with these amazing podcasts !!…♥️
Good story telling! I was riveted by this one.
Thoses poor kids. The Family were devastated. as anyone will be... Rest in peace guys and gals.
This was truly something sinister. I'm sat here in boring England and can't imagine going through these circumstances. RIP to the brave 😘
Thank you for having a transcript