#5 - I think people have climbed to the top via southside w/o gear, but that is a very very very risky thing to do unless you're a climber and know exactly what to expect. The big-helicopter-crash accident of a few years ago occurred on the "easy" route (in case you hadn't heard of that yet: basically one roped climber fell, pulled his team off and they slid into 2? more teams on the way down, all tangled up and into a big crevasse. Some of them died, and one of the rescue choppers crashed - very sad). You'd need crampons, axe, and experience, minimum, or w/o the latter, hire a guide.
If you are contemplating it, I recommend starting w/ some of the less technical mountains that can actually be "hiked", but w/ some scrambling and route-finding and camping and weather issues (like Lassen, Shasta, many mtns in the Sierras, Rockies, etc), then take a class to learn about basic glacier travel, practice the stuff you learn in class... and you might be ready.
MT Hood Continued
in Oregon Cascades
Posted
Hi LH -
#1 - This site has some route information, although perhaps less complete than you'd like.
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150189/mount-hood.html
#5 - I think people have climbed to the top via southside w/o gear, but that is a very very very risky thing to do unless you're a climber and know exactly what to expect. The big-helicopter-crash accident of a few years ago occurred on the "easy" route (in case you hadn't heard of that yet: basically one roped climber fell, pulled his team off and they slid into 2? more teams on the way down, all tangled up and into a big crevasse. Some of them died, and one of the rescue choppers crashed - very sad). You'd need crampons, axe, and experience, minimum, or w/o the latter, hire a guide.
If you are contemplating it, I recommend starting w/ some of the less technical mountains that can actually be "hiked", but w/ some scrambling and route-finding and camping and weather issues (like Lassen, Shasta, many mtns in the Sierras, Rockies, etc), then take a class to learn about basic glacier travel, practice the stuff you learn in class... and you might be ready.