Mt. Hood Winter Ascent - Mountaineering

[mittens]

Hi all-- I am planning a winter ascent up Mt. Hood with a group of friends and need some advice! We all have some experience with travel on glaciated terrain, ice field whiteout navigation, crevasse rescue, and rope travel etc. in Alaska. We want to practice our mountaineering skills.

Also if you have any favorite Mt. Hood backcountry ski spots, I would love to hear about those as well!

What route recommendations do you have? How much of the route can I skin up? What is the best month to practice these skills on Mt. Hood? What are other considerations you think are important?

Thanks!

[ivan]

the south side is the dog route - great camping at illumination rock

[DPS]

Biggest concerns are weather and avalanches.  Check both forecasts before going.  On the south side as Ivan suggests, you could skin all the way to the bergschrund, a few hundred feet below the summit.  As for best month, I suppose that might be late February.  A bit longer days than early winter and there is typically a high pressure system that builds around President's Day weekend.  Make sure you all have avy gear and training, synthetic belay jacket, extra food and plenty of fuel for the stove.