Crisis on Mount Hood: Stories from a Hundred Years of Mountain Rescue
Ten years ago, when the Hood River Crag Rats turned 90 years old, we had a small celebration for the community. That spawned an idea in my brain. I was a writer before I was a doctor and a rescue mountaineer. I’d written a few books, including two mountain rescue memoirs. I decided to craft a book about the story of the Crag Rats to coincide with our centennial anniversary in 2026. Crag Rats have preserved 100 years of archives, dating back to our inception in 1926 as the first mountain rescue team in North America. But when I put together an outline, initial readers thought a straight history book wouldn’t fly to get the message out to the public. So instead, after many drafts of the proposal and sample chapters, I settled on a tome that was half history and half memoir. Thus, after working on it steadily for three years, Crisis on Mount Hood: Stories from 100 Years of Mountain Rescue was published in May 2025 by venerable outdoor publisher Mountaineers Books.
The narrative was challenging to craft. I set the book in present day using first person present tense, then reflected chronologically on the history of Crag Rats using third-person past tense, beginning with the first Crag Rats rescue in 1926. I tried to weave in both historical stories as well as give readers a sense of what’s happening on Mount Hood today, with record numbers of increasingly complex missions.
Most challenging aspect to write: trying to explain the quirky traditions of Crag Rats, many of which date back to the 1920s. A few traditions were challenging to overcome (we did not allow women to join until the early 1990s, for example) and others I initially thought were wonky but now cherish (our dress uniform is an itchy, black and white, one-inch-checkered wool shirt).
I give attention to the formation of the early Pacific Northwest rescue teams as well as the formation of the Mountain Rescue Association at Timberline Lodge in 1959. The book culminates with a personal reflection of my 25 years as a Crag Rat, as I see the need to usher in new rescuers and new leaders and acknowledge that my role will be changing as I approach 60 years old.
The book is available wherever books are sold. For a signed copy, order from independent, family-owned Waucoma Books at waucomabookstore.com in Hood River, Oregon.
