Podeman

Trip: Mt. Hood - Pearly Gates Date: 5/27/2016 Trip Report: Drove through clouds to the Timberline lodge and started walking at 2am. Left the clouds and moisture behind along with most of the wind after about 30min of walking as the lifts came into view. At this point it was amazing with clouds below, clear skies above and enough moonlight to turn of headlamps. After the top of the lifts the snow was perfect "Styrofoam" consistency and made for easy travel as the terrain steepened approaching crater rock. The Hogsback provided a straightforward approach to the Pearly gates. The bergschrund was open (about 2ft wide) and avoidable by taking a sharp right traverse below the bergschrund around its climber's right edge. One team was ahead of us going up the right side of the gates and we followed shortly after without roping up. One ax and one ax one tool are both viable strategies. We topped out around 6:45am to great views.