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Mt. Hood Southside conditions????


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We started up a little after midnight and summitted at 7am this morning. Conditions were great on the way up. We used crampons starting at the Hogsback but did not rope up. The bergschrund is open but easily maneuvered. The descent was a soupy, slushy, mushy mess. My advice: do it early to avoid crowds and warm temps. grin.gif

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I'd be avoiding the WCR route at this point. Too much new snow recently. I know someone who intended to do it Tuesday, but ended up doing the standard south side thing instead.

 

I went up with a slow group on Wednesday, and things were pretty miserable down low by the time we got back. Definitely go early as long as the freezing level is staying high. We saw a decent little slide above the Devil's Kitchen area, but never actually saw anything slide on WCR.

 

The 'schrund was pretty much a non-issue. Just passed by it on the left.

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Hey man, I climbed it the 24th and the 25th and the route has changed a ton overnight. A huge chunk of ice fell off sometime late on the 24th from the center of the pearly gates. Were talking small compact car size. It was scaring me at 5:30am on the 24th and I was wondering when it would come down. Luckily I haven't heard of it nailing any of the crowds that were coming down the hogsback at 2pm on Saturday. Anyway the huge chunk triggered a wet slide that swept the face on the left above the bergshrund. It cleaned up all evidence of the long roping hordes from Sat. This morning at 6am it was solid ice with perfect french technique or should I call it "freedom Technique" firm and unmarked my party was the first on the summit and it was sweet. However the slide opened the bergshrund another 12-18 feet by my estimate (bad news!). It created a fat slightly downsloping ledge just under where it fell so it is a nice place to regroup at the top of the hog! If you have good french technique it will be super fun, bad and it might be a little hairy. also I think the bergschrund will open super quick after this big addition to its opening. And for all the hood fans out there, get a true alpine start the warm nights have made for sweet postholing unless you get up and get moving. Not to mention rock/ice is falling everywhere around Devil's kitchen/steel cliffs.

 

 

Edited by boonecounty
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picture.JPG

 

I summitted between 8 and 9 (no watch, just guessing)yesterday and this reminded me of the Seattle freeways at 5 pm. Tons of people trying to get this one in before the weather gets too warm. A cloud cap was beginning to set in and obscure the summit and any hoped for views from there.

Edited by Dean_Lowery
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I don't have a picture but the one supplied shows it perfectly. See just to the left of the pearly gates the two large rock faces that look like tombstones separated by a section of ice. There is a lone soul on the hogsback directly below the section that fell. He is directly above a group of two and below the clump of 5 or so above that are the furthest group towards the pearly gates. Basically the area between the two tombstones is all rock know and it just looks like a rock wall. It was pretty frigging huge. I would have hated to be below that thing when it went kerplunk. All I can say, "alpine start anyone." I can't imagine how many people including myselft passed underneath that timb bomb. Nice picture it clears things up for me, and makes me realize how big that chunk was!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Edited by boonecounty
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The cloud cap was really starting to take over when I took this pic but it shows the area you are talking about pretty well. I remember looking UP at that as I was on the left side trying to get around a rope team and I thought I hope that doesn't come down on me picture.JPG Your information about the next day was chilling. That thing would have taken a lot of us out if it had happened earlier in the day. Indeed, get an early start.

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thol said:

saturday morning 6ish, coincidence?

skull.jpg

 

Wooo, dude, if you look real close right near the rocks left of the Pearly Gates you can just make out a skull. Must be one of those bizzare premonitions that somehow manifested itself on film.....too cool!

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