Trip: Mt. Hood - Multiple routes
Date: 2/22/2010
Trip Report:I decided to procrastinate on studying for my exams this week, and spend the weekend on Hood instead. With the weather forecast the the way it was, its not like I had a choice.
After a couple bus rides and a short hitchhike I got to the mountain around 3:00 on Saturday. Wind was blowing pretty good on the way up the palmer.
Originally I had planned to camp fairly low and do the Wy'East route sunday morning, since I would have a short day I packed pretty Luxuriously. However since the wind was coming from the east I figured if I went high enough I would be sheltered by the steel cliffs and could camp in peace.
I ended up setting up camp just below crater rock (I almost climbed the whole mountain with that heavy ass pack, sheesh), and it was completely calm.
Got settled in right at sunset.
Photo of my campsite (taken the next day)
I got up sunday morning just before sunrise and as I was drinking my tea, I decided that I didn't want to fight that wind all the way up the Wy'East route. Instead I would climb one of the chutes on the east crater to hook up with the finish of Wy'East.
With camp so high up, I was at the devils kitchen in no time and decided to try the chute closest to steel cliffs. This was easy until the very top where I met 15' of overhanging rime.
Not my job.
Looking up at rime step
I downclimbed and traversed left to the next chute, this one I couldn't even enter because of a sketchy moat. So I downclimbed and traversed some more and spotted a fun looking mixed chute.
Mixed chute
the first ~60' feet was awesome, solid ice and decent rock with a wall of rime on the left to stem on. But as I came to a cruxy section the ice got thinner and started peeling off the rock when I was trying to get pick placements. Not equipped for a rappel if things got worse I decided to downclimb while I still could.
So I made my way over further left to a chute which I believe is the rightmost variation of DKHW. This route was super easy with a fun low angle rime finish that brought me to the Wy'East route.
The upper part of Wy'East
The route along Wy'East to the summit was strait forward and alot of fun, the wind was pretty intense at times but not
too bad. Snow conditions were absolutely perfect just about everywhere, and temps were low enough that there was little to no icefall.
The route I took
I descended the old chute and was surprised at how few people were up there on such a nice day. I got back to camp a little before 10 and had a long lazy rest day. I basically drank tea, ate food, and listened to music for the next 8 hours.
Winter camping at its finest
The next morning (monday(today)) I decided to jolly over to illumination saddle and give the Reid Glacier Headwall a go.
I-rock at sunrise
The snow was a little soft on the glacier, which made for some annoying postholeling, made easier by the fact that there was someone ahead of me. When I caught up to the friendly fellow, I found out that he was doing the RGHW as well. I proceeded to break trail in the superb snow conditions on an awesome route.
Climber on Reid headwall
The route finding was pretty strait forward, and the white walls of rime surrounding me were breathtaking. The crux/highlight of the climb was a really fun rime tunnel that you can just barely squeeze through at the end of the last chute, right before you top out on the summit ridge.
Some shots from the route:
View across the Reid
Mountain shadow
Castle
Fun climbing
Looking back at the chute in the previous photo
looking up at the final chute
Looking back down at the supa dupa fun rime tunnle crux
summit ridge
hogsback
I descended the old chute and packed up camp as fast as possible, then proceeded to sprint down the mountain. With some luck I was able to make it back to PSU only 5 minutes late for logic class.
Gear Notes:two tools
Approach Notes:Heavy pack
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