Sense of Place: Crag Rats Turn 100

HOOD RIVER — Sense of Place concludes its 16th official season on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, with “Crag Rats Turn 100: A Century of Service with the Oldest Mountain Search & Rescue Team in America.”

“Crag Rats Turn 100” will take place at Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River, Oregon at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

The evening will feature Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg, physician, rescue mountaineer, and author of “Crisis on Mount Hood: Stories from 100 Years of Mountain Rescue.” Van Tilburg will guide audiences through the remarkable history of the Crag Rats, the oldest mountain search and rescue team in North America, founded in 1926.

For a century, this all-volunteer team has provided lifesaving search and rescue support in the mountains and wild places of the Pacific Northwest. From the icy slopes of Mount Hood to the steep canyons of the Columbia River Gorge, the Crag Rats have rescued injured climbers on Eliot Glacier, helped hikers stranded during wildfires in Eagle Creek, and searched for missing hunters as far away as Olympic National Park.

Van Tilburg will share the history of courage, lore, tragedy and triumph and the stories of the people that have shaped this organization over the past 100 years, from team traditions to meaningful milestones such as welcoming women into the organization in 1993 as well as his speculation on what the Crag Rats future may hold.