Still no sign of the missing Mt. Hood Climbers.

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Mount Hood overflights see no sign of climbers Rescuers find log entry left by three men missing more than a week MOUNT HOOD, Ore. - A National Guard C-130 circled Mount Hood on Friday in search of three missing mountaineers, but struck out, its commander said. Rescue workers defeated by three storms this week hoped for a break in the weather on Saturday — more than a week after the climbers ascended — and were planning what one called a major push by teams climbing up the mountain's upper elevations. They had hoped the C-130 flights would give them information about where to search on the 11,239-foot mountain. The C-130 Hercules, a plane that transports troops and equipment, is equipped with infrared imaging devices that can detect body heat. But snow and clouds prevented it from gathering any thermal hits, and the equipment also iced up, said Col. Jon Proehl, commander of the 152nd Airlift Wing of the Nevada Air National Guard, which provided the plane. The plane made three passes, one at 8,000 feet, the next at 10,000 feet and the last, over the top of the volcanic summit, at 12,500 feet. They were hoping to find a hint of two Texans and a New Yorker missing since one called family members on Sunday to report that the party was in trouble and two members were descending for help. The caller, Kelly James, 48, was in a snow cave when last heard from, his family said. Proehl said the C-130's equipment wouldn't have detected body heat from a snow cave, in any case. But the plane's crew spotted no visible sign of the climbers, such as a piece of clothing secured outside a snow cave — and couldn't see anything on the east side of the mountain, Proehl said. Two climbers believed to have tried to descend the mountain are Brian Hall, 37, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, 36. James and Hall are from Dallas, Cooke from New York. James didn't tell family members the exact nature of the difficulty the party was in. The last clue to the climbers' whereabouts was a cell phone signal returned from James' cell phone early Tuesday. At a news conference earlier Friday, Capt. Christopher Bernard of the Air Force Reserve's 304th Rescue Squadron produced a handwritten note the climbers purposely left at a ranger station before ascending the mountain. It said they took food and gear such as fuel, bivvy sacks, a shovel and ropes — all of which could be helpful as the three hunkered down against the storms. "These climbers did the right thing," Bernard said. "They logged in and left a note saying 'Hello! We're three climbers — Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke — attempting North Face today: Thursday 12/7 . We have food, fuel, shovel. We have experience.' This tells rescuers how prepared they are." Bernard said searchers were heartened because the trio said they were carrying food, fuel, stoves, bivouac sacks and rope, indicating they were well prepared for the climb. Slammed by storm A fierce storm battered the region overnight and into early Friday, preventing rescuers from searching on the higher reaches of the peak. The National Weather Service said winds at 9,000 feet reached 60 to 80 mph. Searchers were continuing to hunt at lower elevations in hopes that some climbers had managed to descend that far. On Thursday, efforts to use small, unmanned planes carrying devices that can detect body heat were stymied when lenses fogged up. The flights reached about 500 feet above a camp at 6,000 feet where rescuers have set up a staging area, said John Blitch, leader of the Colorado nonprofit group Aracar, which provided the flights. Some rescuers were waiting at a camp on the flank of the 11,239-foot mountain for the weather to break, allowing them to reach the summit. Also Thursday, authorities said a cell phone belonging to the climber believed to be in the snow cave was on briefly as recently as Tuesday. But the phone has not responded since to engineers' signals, sent every five minutes. In response to its "pings," T-Mobile got a return signal from James' cell phone early Tuesday, indicating the handset was back on, when it had been off, authorities said Thursday. The Hood River County sheriff's office initially said the signal was returned at about 10:55 p.m., but later the phone company said the last signal returned from the handset was at 1:51 a.m. Tuesday