The 1934 Fumarole Disaster That Shook The Mt Hood Climbing Community
An Enthusiastic Group Climbs the Mountain
Mount Hood Crater Rock tragedy – On the morning of August 27, 1934, five University of Washington students set out to climb Mount Hood. Among them was Victor Von Normann, just twenty years old, an engineering student and the son of a well-known Seattle attorney. The group made good time up the Hogsback, a steep snow ridge leading to the summit. They were strong, eager, and in good spirits as they began their descent.
The south side of Mount Hood is a familiar route for climbers. Most worry about falls, rockslides, or sudden weather. Few think much about the fumaroles—steam vents around Crater Rock that hiss and smoke where volcanic gases escape through the rock and ice. Climbers in the past knew they smelled bad and burned the throat, but the true danger was little understood at that time.
Into the Fumarole Cave
As the students descended, they noticed a cave in the ice near Crater Rock. The opening had been hollowed out by steam, forming a glistening grotto of snow and stone. Curious, Victor and his companion Edward Tremper stepped inside.
Tremper stopped after climbing down about twenty feet, but Victor pressed on, dropping another thirty feet into the cavern. The steam rolled around him, thick and acrid. Suddenly, his companions heard him cry out. Moments later, he collapsed and lay motionless at the bottom of the cave. Tremper, half-choked himself, scrambled desperately back to daylight. “It was like breathing fire,” he later recalled.
The First Rescue Attempts
Panic broke out among the group. They tried to reach Victor but were driven back by the choking fumes. Help soon came in the form of Aunald “Aunie” Faubion, a Forest Service packer who had been unloading animals nearby. Seeing the crisis, he tied a rope around his waist, soaked his shirt in water, and descended into the cave. Within moments, the gases overwhelmed him too. Other climbers dragged him out and had to hold him down to keep him from trying again.
Tremper spread the word among other climbers on the mountain, while Faubion realized outside help was needed. He rode hard to Lone Fir Lookout, where he raised the alarm. From there, word reached the Timberline Guard Station at Phlox Point, and Forest Service men gathered ropes, gas masks, and oxygen gear before heading for Crater Rock.
A Long and Harrowing Night
By evening, rescuers were at the fumarole cave. Paul Williams, a 21-year-old Forest Service guard, strapped on an Army gas mask and went in. The mask was useless against the heavy carbon dioxide and sulfur gases. He stumbled out, coughing violently, his brother Robert supporting him. Others tried—Forest Service inspector Francis Williamson, guard Ralph Olson—but none could last more than half a minute in the poisonous air.
Through the night, Victor’s body lay in sight but out of reach, while men argued over how to reach him without becoming victims themselves. Lanterns flickered on the snow, the steam hissing from the vents, the rescue party growing more desperate with each attempt.
A Heroic Effort at Dawn
At first light on August 28, the focus shifted to Gary Leech, a seasoned climber from Government Camp known for his strength and courage. Leech strapped on oxygen gear and descended carefully into the cave. He reached Victor and bent down to tie a rope around him. In that moment, the gases hit him full force. He collapsed.
Leech was dragged out by rope, unconscious. On the snow outside, firemen worked furiously to revive him. At last he gasped for breath and opened his eyes, but he was too weak to try again. “It was like being strangled—the gas shut off all breath,” one rescuer said.
The Final Recovery
Help arrived in greater force that morning. The Portland Fire Bureau had driven up from the city with a truckload of oxygen equipment and men, joined by Clackamas County deputies. Together with the Forest Service guards, they prepared for one more attempt.
Paul Williams volunteered again. With fresh oxygen gear, he descended into the fumarole, fighting dizziness and burning lungs. This time, he succeeded. He fastened a rope around Victor’s body, and at last, after nearly sixteen hours in the cave, the rescuers hauled him out onto the snow. It was about 10:00 a.m. on August 28.
A Second Blow on the Descent
The recovery brought relief, but tragedy struck again. The rescuers lashed Victor’s body to a pack horse for the trip down. On a rocky moraine, the animal slipped and fell, tumbling hundreds of feet and mangling the remains. For Victor’s companions, who had already endured the horror of the cave, it was a cruel and unforgettable sight.
Mount Hood Crater Rock tragedy: Aftermath and Legacy
The rescuers paid a price. Paul Williams was hospitalized with chest pains and vision problems from the gases. Gary Leech, who had collapsed in the cave, also required treatment. Both were praised for their bravery, their names etched into the memory of the mountain community.
Victor’s body was eventually carried to Portland and then returned to Seattle, where funeral services were held in September 1934. Obituaries remembered him as a brilliant student and an avid outdoorsman, a life full of promise cut short by a hidden danger.
In the days that followed, the Forest Service pledged to post warnings near the fumarole caves around Crater Rock. Von Normann’s death was the first recorded fatality on Mount Hood caused by volcanic gases, a sobering reminder that the mountain’s perils are not always visible.
Sources Cited
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR). August 28, 29, 31, September 1, 1934.
- Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR). August 28, 29, 30, 31, September 19, 1934.
- Medford Mail Tribune (Medford, OR). August 28, 1934.
- Capital Journal (Salem, OR). August 28, 1934.
- Register-Guard (Eugene, OR). August 28, 1934.
- Evening Herald (Klamath Falls, OR). August 28, 1934.
- The Bulletin (Bend, OR). August 28, 1934.
- The Observer (La Grande, OR). August 28, 1934.
- Delaware County Daily Times (Chester, PA). August 29, 1934.
- The News-Review (Roseburg, OR). September 1, 1934.
- Grauer, Jack. Mount Hood: A Complete History: 2004.
About the reconstructed images on this website.
Some images in this article may be reproductions based on historic photographs or newspaper articles that survive only in poor condition. These images have been digitally restored to improve clarity and, where necessary, reconstructed to represent the originals accurately. All reconstructions are guided by historical evidence and are intended to clarify-not reinterpret-the original scenes.
Excellent post
Thank you Janet.