For all its serenity and majesty it never fails to remind us of the swift sword it
carries under its robes.

At 10 a.m. on Jan. 21, 10,000 feet into the sky, Mount Hood claimed another
climber.

Brooke Elyse Colvin, 31, was overcome by a chunk of falling ice and was
thrown 400 feet to her death.

Colvin and her husband, Thad Jonathan Stavn, 33, both of Portland and both
experienced mountaineers, were climbing on the south slope between
Hogsback and Pearly Gates when disaster struck.

Stavn clambered down to aid his wife but after arriving at her side discovered
she was dead.

"He (Stavn) was obviously distraught," said Detective Jim Strovink,
Clackamas County Sheriff’s information officer. "He was able to self-rescue
even after watching his wife tumble down the mountain."

Another group of climbers had witnessed the event and called 9-1-1. A
search-and-rescue crew met Stavn at the scene. Seeing that Colvin was dead,
an Oregon Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that was en
route was called off. A snow cat was employed to recover the body.

A similar event occurred Jan. 17 when Michael Leming, 45, of Portland –
ironically a member of the Portland Mountain Rescue team – was also hit by a
piece of falling ice in the same area of the Pearly Gates.

Leming was tossed 200 feet down the slope, suffered a broken ankle, was
completely incapacitated, but was airlifted to safety by a Black Hawk chopper.

The Portland Mountain Rescue unit is renowned for its climbing expertise and
volunteer efforts conducted on Mount Hood, and fortunately for Leming
members of the team were participating in a training exercise that day. They
went immediately to Leming’s aid and contributed significantly to this rescue
of one of their own, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s report.

The injured climber was airlifted to Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital
where he was treated for significant injuries sustained to his ankles and
shoulder.

The mountain has claimed the lives of 40 climbers since 1981, including 17
this decade.