advice needed: hood south side route (Hogsback)

[plark42]

When did you want to go up?? This might be too late... (I want to go up this coming weekend.. July 23rd or whatever)

[Kevin_Matlock]

plark - I'm thinking of going up sunshine this Saturday, the 23rd. Only slightly more technically demanding, but may very well rope up, so all things considered this would be a little safer (being roped and all)... also much less crowded.

PM me if interested and I'll give you more details.

[layton]

Here's the lowdown. It's a very very very easy solo, BUT not everyone is comfortable doing so. If you do bring a rope, however, you MUST have protection connected to the snow/rope the entire time you are roped in. Otherwise you are soloing with twice the risk.

[plark42]

I am hoping to go up the last weekend of July (this coming weekend 7/23-24 I am doing baker with 3 other guys..) I would like to do hood sometime on 7-30 or 31st

[simpleton]

A freind and I climbed Hogsback on Wednesday. Quite icy but nothing horrible. Neither of us have a ton of alpine climbing experience but we were both comfortable without a rope and were glad we decided against bringing it. Hammering pickets into the snow above the shrund would have been very difficult and time consuming in a place that I wasn't comfortable spending lots of time in. Going around the bergshrund was a little unnerving, it is obviously a lot bigger than it sometimes is and small slabs and crevasses are starting to form above it. Besides that, we witnesses a big rock fall to the east of us before we got on Hogsback. We were going to attempt going down the West Crater Variation but the gulley that we thought the route was on looked a little steep for our comfort level and lack of belay but I'm not sure we were looking at the right route. I would consider ourselves moderately fit. We started at about 1:30 and summited at about 6:30. Back at the parking lot a little after 10:30. Coming back down the lift attendant if we could ride the lift down and were shot down so don't even bother. I felt it definitely would have been worth it though to lug a pair of skis and boots up to at least the end of the chairlift, but maybe next time. Anyways, good luck, it wasn't very technical especially since we took it very slow and were careful about having good axe placements especially decending the pearly gates.

[DanH]

A freind and I climbed Hogsback on Wednesday. Quite icy but nothing horrible. Neither of us have a ton of alpine climbing experience but we were both comfortable without a rope and were glad we decided against bringing it. Hammering pickets into the snow above the shrund would have been very difficult and time consuming in a place that I wasn't comfortable spending lots of time in. Going around the bergshrund was a little unnerving, it is obviously a lot bigger than it sometimes is and small slabs and crevasses are starting to form above it. Besides that, we witnesses a big rock fall to the east of us before we got on Hogsback. We were going to attempt going down the West Crater Variation but the gulley that we thought the route was on looked a little steep for our comfort level and lack of belay but I'm not sure we were looking at the right route. I would consider ourselves moderately fit. We started at about 1:30 and summited at about 6:30. Back at the parking lot a little after 10:30. Coming back down the lift attendant if we could ride the lift down and were shot down so don't even bother. I felt it definitely would have been worth it though to lug a pair of skis and boots up to at least the end of the chairlift, but maybe next time. Anyways, good luck, it wasn't very technical especially since we took it very slow and were careful about having good axe placements especially decending the pearly gates.

 

I was there too, and I brought a camera. I can't figure out how to post pictures here, but if you're interested, they are in the gallery. Start early, use protection if you rope up, and cross the bergshrund far to the west; the bridge's days are numbered. I'm glad that we didn't rope up because taking the time to deal with with pounding in pickets as rocks and ice fell down from the pearly gates would have sucked; I wanted to get through that section as quickly as possible.

[plark42]

Sounds like fun... nothing like a little exposure over/around a bergschrund to get the adrenaline flowing.. I might bring a 30 rope and some pickets so that if the girlfriend feels unnerved crossing the snow bridge... I could belay her from up top.. thanks for the info.. it's very helpful..

 

I think going lighter and faster might be the better choice... i'll just talk it over with the woman... i would assume that rock/ice fall in and around the pearly gates is an even bigger hazard... wouldn't want to have a picnic in there!!