[TR] Mt. Hood - Leutholds Attempt 10/12/2008

[WageSlave]

Trip: Mt. Hood - Leutholds Attempt

 

Date: 10/12/2008

 

Trip Report:

This cold snap after some warmness made it seem like alpine ice might actually exist in Oregon. Got up at 2 am to drive up to Hood with Aili (sisu) and scout out the West Side of Hood and maybe go up Leutholds or the Reid Headwall. Got up to the Illum. saddle around dawn, roped up and headed down across the Reid Glacier. Everything is nice and open, but blown around powder has filled up some of the smaller crevasses and Aili got a leg into one of them. Everything is covered in nice fat blue plastic ice. At the bottom of Leutholds, we watched some unexpected watermelon-sized rockfall come down and the clouds closed in. Decided to wait it out for 15 to see if the winds and clouds went away at all and it only picked up. We turned around cause we're wusses that don't like rockfall or whiteouts.

 

No photos from the adventure cause the camera batteries don't like the cold one bit. But holy crap, so much alpine ice everywhere! The Reid Headwall and the Leutholds are in and are looking plenty thick. If anyone from PDX wants to go back up next weekend, shoot me a PM.

 

Gear Notes:

Brought a bit, only used a tool each and the rope.

 

Approach Notes:

Dodge snowboarders in plaid unitards. Seriously.

[Chad_A]

Fuckin' good for you guys. Nice way to get after it early-season style.

 

Never a bad decision to call it in deteriorating weather. Thanks for the report; I'm sure someone around here will be wanting to go check things out because of it.

 

Cheers,

Chad

[WageSlave]

As of this morning there's not one bit of decent ice left up there. Its all gone for a while. Stupid warm temps.

[hkrhnk11]

I've never crossed over onto the Reid this late in the season. Was the drop down steep? Seems like it would be without any snow on it.

[lnf]

Steeper, but it's not a rap or anything. The "drop down" isn't the problem the complete lack of snow and ice on the routes is. Here's the one pic I took Sun. Yocum looking prime...

 

[hkrhnk11]

Oohhh Yeah.... Real prime indeed.

Why is it that the only time I feel like climbing Yocum is when I've been drinking? Probably the only time I have the balls.

 

Thanks for the pic. Makes me want to slog up right now and check it out.

[mattp]

When in good condition, Yokum Ridge is not necessarily a terribly difficult or dangerous climb.

[hkrhnk11]

Really? I always heard that even when in good condition it was hard to protect. There was one guidebook entry i read that went so far as to call it a "suicide" route. I guess it all depends on the conditions.

 

 

[ivan]

When in good condition, Yokum Ridge is not necessarily a terribly difficult or dangerous climb.

what he said

 

the next time i'm after it though i'll be skipping the first gendarme and just going strait for the by-pass

[Greg Adkins]

Very good report and it makes me happy that, even if only briefly, there is some local ice to get after. Can I safely assume that, after the first of the year, there's more to be had in the area you climbed?

[WageSlave]

Yeah, thats a safe assumption for sure. Hell, there's probably a bunch more ice up there right now. I'd say just go for that hike up the ski track and check out whats up on the mountain.