Crews recover body of Canadian man who fell 700 feet while climbing Mount Hood in Oregon

Crews recover mountaineer’s body from Mount Hood

PORTLAND, Ore. — Search and rescue workers have retrieved the body of a 58-year-old Canadian climber who fell 700 feet to his death on Oregon’s Mount Hood.

Robert Wiebe of Langley, British Columbia, died Tuesday after his party of five ran into bad weather on the 11,239-foot mountain. His body couldn’t be carried back down until conditions improved Thursday.

The group had climbed to the top of Coe Glacier at about 9,500 feet intending to ski back down.

A member of the party said the ascent was in sunny, calm weather, but a cloud abruptly created a whiteout.

When it lifted a half hour later, he says Wiebe had vanished, apparently having fallen on the ice.