Mount hood....what do I need to know.

[IceAxe18]

In my opinion I think before you try to climb Mount Hood that you should go to Mount Rainier & climb to Camp Muir (10,080ft). This would be a good training place before you venture to Mount Hood. This would also give you and idea what its like to climb to at least 10,080ft even though Mount Hood is 11,239ft. You can find a partner on this site or on summitpost.com site. I wouldn't even mind if you tag along this summer with me to Camp Muir.

 

Then when you feel that your ready to climb Mount Hood you should find a partner who is experince in climbing or to find a guide that can safely take you up and back down again.

[Stick]

In my opinion I think before you try to climb Mount Hood that you should go to Mount Rainier & climb to Camp Muir (10,080ft). This would be a good training place before you venture to Mount Hood. This would also give you and idea what its like to climb to at least 10,080ft even though Mount Hood is 11,239ft. You can find a partner on this site or on summitpost.com site. I wouldn't even mind if you tag along this summer with me to Camp Muir.

 

Then when you feel that your ready to climb Mount Hood you should find a partner who is experince in climbing or to find a guide that can safely take you up and back down again.

 

That sounds like fun. Whats the terrain like?

 

[sobo]

That sounds like fun. Whats the terrain like?

The road to Muir from Paradise is pretty much a cake walk. That said, it also depends greatly upon what the conditions are like. At times, it is a Zen garden path with flagstones through the wildflowers for the first mile or so (literally!), while at other times it can be a sub-polar exercise in climbing by Braille. The grade is never steep, except for the short push up from Glacier Vista to Panorama Point.

 

The slog from Pebble Creek to Muir averages somewhere between 15 to 20 degrees for the whole way, but it’s a long two miles, in that the foreshortening effect tricks your eyes into thinking your constantly “almost there” for the next hour or so. Best to know that going in.

 

Lastly, remember that conditions are everything. Just this past week a young man (22 yoa) was killed by an avalanche not even one hour’s hike out of the Paradise lot, in the Edith Creek basin. A couple of years ago an uncle/nephew team was killed by exposure/hypothermia on the march to Muir above Pebble Creek. They were seen by many while they were still alive, and appeared by all accounts to be in reasonable shape. When the white-out moved in, they weren’t seen alive again. Things can happen fast.

 

I applaud your determination in this regard, but I still suggest to you to leave your son at home for a few more years yet. Get a lot of experience in all manner of conditions on several peaks under your belt before you decide to subject him to dangers that he knows not of. We would all hate to read about you and your boy in the papers, if things were to go awry...

 

[IceAxe18]

When you first start out you will be walking on cement a little ways up. Then the trail will turn to dirt and this is the area where I call the stair stepper up to Pebble Creek. Then between Pebble Creek & Camp Muir is the Camp Muir snow field.

 

Here is one of my videos:

 

tVRlJ2pCxPs

 

I'm not sure why I had turn around that day. I think that I wanted to spend the night at Camp Muir more than do a day climb to Camp Muir.

 

 

[Stick]

Nice video. Very helpful.

 

[blurpy]

if muir is too far, then another low-commitment way to get a taste of the mountain is to hike up to Silcox Hut. I was up there yesterday, in less than ideal conditions, but the risk was low. Its days like this that demonstrate what your equipment can and cannot do, what wind-driven ice crystals feel like and what its like to fall off the edge of a drift that you didn't know you were on. Take a bit of rope and practice your knots. Its super fun!

 

silcox hut jaunt

 

here is one of the photos:

[KaskadskyjKozak]

According to his father who started this thread, the child in question is less than 3 years old.

 

He's 3 1/2 yrs old now. I was thinking of doing the climb in 2009 he'd be 5 then.

 

I think the whole idea is nuts, but it's been done before:

young climber on Rainier

[high_on_rock]

More power to all these kids. Probably safer than riding a bike. go for it.

e

[Frikadeller]

if muir is too far, then another low-commitment way to get a taste of the mountain is to hike up to Silcox Hut. I was up there yesterday, in less than ideal conditions, but the risk was low. Its days like this that demonstrate what your equipment can and cannot do, what wind-driven ice crystals feel like and what its like to fall off the edge of a drift that you didn't know you were on. Take a bit of rope and practice your knots. Its super fun!

 

 

Thats actually not a bad starter route on hood. You esentially cannot get lost even in a white out because of the ski boundary markers, etc. Plus it gives you an accurate representation of shit weather conditions on the mountain with minimal risk. Just bring a compass, and remember which way is south, and you'll get back to the parking lot, markers, or boundary lines. Even in a white out, you can tell if you are on the cat track.

Edited January 2, 2008 by Frikadeller

[medicsandy]

Ok, so I'm bored at work and just ran across this old post. Does anyone have any idea if this guy ended up taking his son up Mt. Hood??