A climber was killed after falling at least 700 feet Tuesday morning on the Hogsback area of Mount Hood, where tumbling ice and rocks stranded several others before they were rescued.

The male climber was pronounced dead upon arrival at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center by helicopter. Officials said they will release his name and age after they positively identify him and notify family.

Details of what caused him to fall were not immediately known. Fellow climbers reached him and administered CPR.

He was bleeding and had injuries around his face, said Scott Lucas, the state search and rescue coordinator for the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. The man's respiration was "off and on," Lucas said.

A Black Hawk helicopter was dispatched and took him to Legacy Emanuel hospital about 3 1/2 hours after the fall was reported at 10:30 a.m., but he was pronounced dead.

Conditions high on the mountain had deteriorated during the morning, causing problems for climbers.

In addition to trying to save the fallen climber, rescue operations were launched to help those reported stranded. An AMR Reach & Treat team began the hike up from Timberline Lodge about noon, said Sgt. Brian Jensen, a Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman. About 4:40 p.m. rescuers reached a group of three that had been with the climber when he fell.

One of the three had suffered minor injuries, and another was having difficulty moving.

Jensen said that after reaching the climbers, rescuers then best assessed how to get them down.

"I can't speak to (the climbers') mental state. I know what mine would be if I were up there, and I would be a wreck," Jensen said.

Rescuers helped two male members of that group hike down the mountain, meeting a snow tractor above Palmer snowfield. They were suffering from mental and physical exhaustion, Jensen said, but about 6:45 p.m. they arrived at Timberline Lodge.

The third member of the group was also suffering from mental and physical exhaustion and was being brought down the mountain in a sled, Jensen said. About 7:30 p.m., she was put into a snow tractor and was soon expected to arrive at the lodge.

Another group of three climbers was able to walk down the mountain under their own power after rescuers reached them.

Rescue crews, which included Portland Mountain Rescue and Sheriff's Office personnel, had kept an eye toward 1 a.m. Wednesday, when the weather was expected to bring rain, snow and high winds.

A helicopter from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station was sent to help rescue the stranded climbers, the Sheriff's Office said. It was expected, among other tasks, to help guide the climbers down the mountain.

The Hogsback is located near the summit. Climbers on a popular route to the summit pass through the Hogsback before ascending the Pearly Gates. They generally start their climb at Timberline Lodge and ascend for several hours before reaching the Hogsback.

It's unusual for people to climb Mount Hood in February, Lucas said, attributing the throng of mountaineers there now to a relatively dry winter in Oregon.

"Looks like rescue season's come early this year," he said.

According to the U.S. Forest Service's website, "Mount Hood attracts more than 10,000 climbers a year, making Mount Hood's summit the most visited snow covered peak in America."

-- Everton Bailey Jr., Shane Dixon Kavanaugh and Dave Killen of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015