Crag Rats mark 100 years of Mount Hood rescues
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When adventurers get into trouble, the Crag Rats jump into action. Photo: Terray Sylvester/VW Pics/Universal Images Group
The Crag Rats, the nation's oldest search and rescue team, are marking 100 years of helping stranded, lost and injured adventurers on Mount Hood and beyond.
Why it matters: Oregon's outdoor boom — from crowded trails to icy alpine routes — keeps the all-volunteer Hood River team busier than ever.
Flashback: In 1923, a group of climbers in Hood River were called upon to help look for a boy who had gotten lost on Mount Hood, per the group's website.
- Three years later, they again joined a rescue mission looking for a lost child, who was found safe after several days.
- They weren't yet a formal organization, but when a reporter asked them what they were called, one of them remembered the moniker their wives used to describe them: the Crag Rats.
- By the late 1950s, they were charter members of the Mountain Rescue Association and had gained both regional and national recognition for their dangerous and daring rescues.
State of play: The group, which still sports the signature black and white checkered flannels they adopted in the 1920s, is certified in technical rope and avalanche rescues.
- Last year was one of their busiest yet, with 54 days on rescue missions, second only to 2022, when they were called out on 60 days, per KOIN.
The big picture: It's not just Mount Hood where people get into trouble.
- Most Crag Rat rescues occur in the gorge, Crag Rat volunteer Hugh Brown said in a video celebrating their 100th anniversary.
- "It's very rugged terrain; there's lots of long, steep trails and lots of waterfalls and cliffs," Brown said.
What they're saying: Christopher Van Tilburg, an emergency room doctor and Crag Rat volunteer for more than 25 years, said technology is quickly becoming both their most valuable asset and one of their biggest challenges.
- "People go deeper, farther, higher into the mountains with better climbing equipment and better navigation equipment," he told The Mountaineers.
- At the same time, Crag Rats use GPS locators, drones, aircraft radar and digital avalanche transceivers to save these high-tech adventurers.
- "But these are complicated to master, rely on batteries, have electromagnetic interference and sometimes don't transmit or receive," Van Tilburg said. "So, we still have to rely on old-school skis-on-snow."
What's next: To mark a century of service, the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River will host "Crag Rats Turn 100: A Century of Service" from 7 to 8:30pm April 15.