On New Year’s Eve of 1926, Government Camp was bustling. The Battle Axe Inn’s windows glowed with warm light, packed with holiday visitors who had come to celebrate the turn of the year in the shadow of Mount Hood. Outside, the snow piled deep as a winter storm surrounded the mountain. Among those staying at the rustic inn were three young men from Portland whose names would soon be linked together in one of the largest mountain searches Oregon had ever seen
