Woman plunges into snow-covered volcanic vent on Mount Hood, rescuers say

A climber on Oregon’s Mount Hood saw a 32-year-old woman set her pack down on the snow to rest Friday afternoon.

When he looked again, she had disappeared.

Carolyn Sundbaum of Portland had fallen 15 feet down a fumarole, or volcanic vent, covered by snow on Mount Hood, an active volcano, Clackamas County deputies reported in a news release.

“I sat on my pack and it all came out from underneath me,” Sundbaum said, KPTV reported.

The other climber called 911 and rushed to assist Sundbaum, deputies reported. Fumaroles can vent hydrogen sulfide and other toxic volcanic gases.

“He sort of yelled at me to see how I was doing, asked me if I was breathing,” Sundbaum said, according to KPTV. “I said I was breathing. He said ‘hang tight I need to get a rope and anchor myself in.’ ”

The other climber hoisted Sundbaum, who had a shoulder injury, from the vent using a rope, deputies reported.

A rescue team and the woman’s fellow hikers, who had gone on ahead, helped retrieve her from the Devil’s Kitchen area 11,200 feet up the mountain, according to the release.

“It’s fortunate another climber witnessed this incident — it would have been extremely difficult to locate Sundbaum otherwise, and the air inside fumaroles can be toxic and potentially deadly,” the sheriff’s office said in the release.

Hydrogen sulfide from fumaroles produces a rotten-egg odor, according to Portland Mountain Rescue, which assisted in Sundbaum’s rescue.

Fumaroles can be especially dangerous when hidden by heavy snowfalls, rescuers say. Hot gases can form cavities that collapse beneath the weight of a hiker or climber, plunging them into the vent and possibly toxic gases.

Portland Mountain Rescue urged climbers to avoid known fumarole areas on Mount Hood.

This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 8:29 AM with the headline "Woman plunges into snow-covered volcanic vent on Mount Hood, rescuers say."