GranolaEater93

@Bronco and @JasonG thanks for the advice. I am thinking you are right. Although each mountain is different, I have started becoming less excited about standard routes and essentially "walking up" with only an ice axe and crampons. But, safety is key and you make a good point. It is probably a good idea to first clime the standard route and get a lay of the land. I am hoping to connect with someone more knowledgeable to show me the art of glacier travel and snow anchor set-up. I can teach myself most of these skills, but I am reluctant to apply them in the field without a more experienced climber to observe and critique.

Hello, I am planning a climb up Mt. Hood via the Wy'East route. My fiance and I have climbed several mountains in the PNW, most notably we have made several attempts up Mt. Adams, climbed St. Helens a few times, and South Sister as well. The technical requirements have been minimal, requiring only helmets, ice axes, and crampons. So, I am looking at Wy'East as a route to progress our skills. In a nutshell, I am looking for advice from folks as to what gear is required and what level of expertise is required for the "easiest" variation (cross white glacier and follow ridgeline up to summit) I have read many reports and it seems that depending on which variation you decide, Wy'East can be more technical requiring ice climbing or less technical requiring only glacier travel across White Glacier and then 2 steep pitches (50-60 degrees) requiring a simple snow anchor set-up. I am thinking this route may be too advanced and I might be better off looking for a mentor/climbing partner to take us up rather than learn the required skills on my own. But, any information you can give would help inform my decision. Thanks!