VegasJoe

Solid beta, thank you very much. I'm going to bring it.... I've done some backcountry stuff up in my local Mt. in the trees and tight stuff (Charleston) but never on a big open area like Hood, looking forward to it! ...

Great trip report, impromptu summiting Mt. Hood is impressive! My friends and I are planning to summit June 19th. But I am getting in the area before they arrive and will have time to hike up to around the hogsback area one morning to do some "scouting" etc. haha As I live in Vegas, I need to pack my gear beforehand, I am wondering how the ride down from hogsback area back to the parking lot would be? It's not the weight of the board I'm thinking about, it's just the extra thing to pack if not really worth it. I know this is subjective obviously but with really no snow forecast until the trip (and yes I know this can change rapidly as well) I'm just wondering if it's going to be and ice slide or able to get a few decent carves in. (if my abilities allow of course) Thanks in advance for any replies.

Will certainly post up a trip report, hopefully a successful one at that!

I cited an outside source, so it's not "me" telling "you" anything. You sound like you pay a lot of attention to these people, do you have some sort of latent fantasy about healing and transforming these mere mortals into KirkW, AKA "Climbing God?" You almost managed to border on constructive but then crapped all over yourself with the condescending "spicy" reference. You see, any technicality has varying gradients of difficulty. Climbing is no exception and I don't think under good conditions the South Side route of Mt. Hood would be considered "spicy" on a broad scale. Now, to me, yes, it's "spicy" as hell, because it looks intimidating and I have read of countless deaths on that very same route. For you to scoff at it shows you have become jaded because of successes you have had in the past. A sign of immaturity at best and perhaps even borderline sociopathic. Actually, I already know this because I've already walked up that section a few years ago, see initial post. You have a stake in Timberline or you are hoping those few dollars are going to trickle out your way at some point? You mean the thread you started 3 years ago and opened with this: So I guess the pressing question for you at this point is, how did you become such a world class tool in just three short years?

We are set to climb the night of the 19th, but thank you very much for invite. Greatest of luck to you in your endeavor!

I would never tell a new person that the South Side of Hood is not technical. Yes it may be easy for cascade hardmen, but for people who are mostly used to climbing rock, or nothing at all (especially those from a different region), it can be scary when icy. I'd recommend climbing midweek to avoid the crowds on that route. Just saying Logic at last, thank you. It's all about perspective just like anything else. Playing tennis with your 4.0-5.0 group might make you feel like a hero, but guys in the 6's laugh and scoff at your weak and predictable shots. Or you might be a cat 3 or 4 road racer and feel like king doo doo on your Sunday morning group rides, and then someone really fast drops you like a fat sack of beans and they laugh as you suck wind....... See where I'm going here? Any athletic endeavor is going to have ego, mountain climbing is obviously no exception. A few guys thinking of taking a snow cat to where the deadly technical portion of a climb starts didn't seem like something that would actually piss people off as much as it has. For that, I don't apologize.

Thank you, good stuff. We may still walk up anyhow, even though at this point I want to ride the bulldozer just to piss off the ego driven hotshot locals.

Now, now be nice to out of state visitors. But there are not really any technical portions on the south side via the old chute unless the wind is really blowing then the summit ridge can be exciting. I wonder if the guy who slipped and fell into the fumarole might disagree? Or are these guys just blowing smoke to rent more technical gear to out of towners? http://www.mountainshop.net/about/climbing-mt-hood/ But really, I get it, it's not "pure" and all that to take the cat. It's just that the terrain being passed in the bulldozer is lift served anyway so......... Thanks for the constructive advice so far, much appreciated.

What technical portion? If riding a bulldozer to 9k and slogging for a couple more hours up a beat out boot track sounds like a swell use of vacation time than by all means... Not everyone can be a world class PNW local badass I suppose.......

We were mostly wanting to do the cat because 2 of us have already hiked that portion and the third in our party would not mind getting right up to the technical portion of the climb. But points taken on all accounts, and if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen. We will leave the parking lot no later than midnight.

Thank you for posting your trip report and some fantastic pictures as well! My friends and I are planning to climb on June 19th. I was wondering how long it took you from parking lot to top of hogsback and then how long it took to get through the Old Chute?

Hey everyone, Joe here from Las Vegas. Brand new to the board so if this is not the proper place to put this I apologize in advance. My 2 buddies and myself are planning to climb the South Route of Mt. Hood on the night of June 19th. We will rent our crampons, boots, axes, helmets from Portland Mountain Shop and have our own rope, harnesses, belay devices etc. We are all very fit and have multiple multi day trips throughout Grand Canyon. 1 of my friends is a professional guide there as well. John and Joe have successfully climbed Grand Teton last summer. Joe and I successfully climbed Mt. Shasta 4 summers ago via the Avalanche Gulch to Lake Helens route. Joe also stood atop Kilimanjaro about 5 years ago. Joe and I (I'm Joe also) tried to summit Mt. Hood 3 summers ago but only got as high as our camp area above Palmer lift area. It's a long story but high winds and some things that didn't go as planned caused us to not go any farther. Well, now that you know some history, we are all three going to be attempting Mt. Hood via the South Route in a couple of weeks. We are considering taking the cat ride that goes up between midnight and 4am. It's around $500 and there are only 3 of us. I believe it holds 12 people, so........is there anybody that has one reserved and would like to take on a few riders for an equal share of $$?? Suggestions are welcome regarding the trip, planning, etc etc Thank you for taking the time to read this.