A 58-year-old man from Langley, B.C., has fallen to his death in a back country accident on Mount Hood in Oregon State.
Robert Wiebe fell while climbing and skiing in an area known as the "Snow Dome" on the north side of the mountain with a group of four friends Tuesday.
His body was recovered Thursday afternoon, after bad weather delayed search teams.
Expedition member Mark Flaming, who also works for the Crag Rats Search and Rescue team, told ctvbc.ca the area they were skiing is among the safest and most commonly used routes in the spring, but their trip was derailed when a sudden bout of stormy weather moved in.
"It was sunny the entire day, but spring in the Cascades is stormy -- it can go from sunny to cloudy very quickly," he said.
Det. Matt English with the Hood River County Sheriff's department said the weather changed so quickly that the party did not have time to tie themselves to other climbers. By the time the group realized what happened, Wiebe could not be saved.
Snowfall, winds and poor visibility prevented rescue crews from flying in a helicopter to recover his body from the 9,500-foot level near Coe Glacier yesterday afternoon.
Teams have returned to the mountain, about 500 kilometres south of Vancouver, for a second attempt.
Wiebe is described as an avid and experienced climber.
His death is the first on the mountain since December 2009, when three friends in their 20s died on the mountain. The body of one climber was recovered but a search for the other two was called off.
Around 10,000 people attempt to climb Mount Hood each year. More than 130 people have died on the mountain since records started being kept in the late 1800s.
With a report from The Canadian Press
