bruckie Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 Went up yesterday (Thursday) morning, summitting a bit before 5:30. Crossed the Old Chute boot track under the cliffs, then took the 2 o'clock (rightmost) couloir to the ridge, rather than the more boring old chute. Nice little pitch. Ice/rock fall was pretty non-existent, but TMG is taking people over the fumaroles down low to stay out of the way. The other climbers coming up a little later looked like ants. Didn't expect so many on a Thursday! 2 o'clock couloir: Ants on the ridge: 45 ants on the SS. Count 'em: Quote
loftypeaks Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 oh my ! I'm so glad we had the chute to ourselves three weeks ago. Say, what's the route called that the group heading towards the airplane contrail is doing. once up on that ridge, is it just a ridge walk like from the old chute ? Quote
PaulO Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 Yippie! I made it up Hood today - 1st time in 3 years Fat, out of shape, sore knee and all. I think all the same people were still there plus a few more... Summit Shot There is a passing lane on the ridge now Heading Down Beautiful day with perfect conditions. Quote
dwillym Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 I got up there this morning (5/30) at about 5am. This was my 4th summit of Hood and by far the best yet. I believe I was 2nd at the top, and the first guy left right away and I had the summit & sunrise all to myself for about 15 minutes...priceless! I did the Old Chute as well, though everybody seemed to be taking the far left option when I started up. As I progressed up the right side of it (where most of the people are going in the first pic in the previous post) I noticed the option I took is far superior - it's generally less steep then the left side (except for the last 30 feet or so), and the runout is better - if you fell at least you have the dirt/fumarole area below you, as opposed to the steep, lasting-forever slope to the east of crater rock. I'd post some pics but they look like everybody else's. It seemed like half the groups coming up after me were roping up. It was crazyness. Quote
bruckie Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 I think all the same people were still there plus a few more... That's insane. Quote
bruckie Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 oh my ! I'm so glad we had the chute to ourselves three weeks ago. Say, what's the route called that the group heading towards the airplane contrail is doing. once up on that ridge, is it just a ridge walk like from the old chute ? Not sure what it's called, but it's quite a bit steeper than the main Old Chute route to the right. There were three rope teams heading up that way, and it looked like a lot of them were pretty uncomfortable with the grade. The leaders were putting in protection and belaying them, so they were taking *forever*. I'm glad they weren't blocking everyone else. Quote
Maine-iac Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 Bruckie, did you see a guy in a red jacket (solo) coming down from the old chute around 445am? I was on the hogsback by 5am. Quote
letsroll Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 Maine you solo? Red jacket. You pass by some AT skiers on the way down? I was wearing shorts and a blue short sleeve. Think I saw you. Quote
bruckie Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 Bruckie, did you see a guy in a red jacket (solo) coming down from the old chute around 445am? I was on the hogsback by 5am. Yep. Just found a picture of you on your blog; that was definitely you. Your buddy had to turn around. I wondered where you were from. I would have guessed Canada from your accent, but Maine (I assume from your username) is close enough. Quote
Maine-iac Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 I do not remember many skiers up there Letsroll, I talked with one guy for a little while who had skis. I would hope I would have remembered seeing someone in shorts! But I tried to get down as fast as possible (I managed to sit on my shovel and do all of palmer-Tline in 40 mins or so!) because I had class at 10am that morning. So it was just a quick jaunt to the mountains! You do get some good looks when people ask why you look so haggard and you tell 'em you just pulled a 24 hour stint cus you climbed a mountain. Bruckie, good to have met you. But to be honest I can not remember where. Quote
letsroll Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 that haggard look is the best. Living life to the fullest!!! Quote
bruckie Posted June 1, 2009 Posted June 1, 2009 Bruckie, good to have met you. But to be honest I can not remember where. The parking lot, originally. And then again when your original route didn't pan out and you headed back east to do the SS. We crossed paths again below the couloir you descended on your way down; we were the first group up behind you. Quote
Maple Syrup Posted June 13, 2009 Posted June 13, 2009 PaulO I was up there yesterday, I'm a newbo so I don't exactly know the kind of info you're looking for. The hogsback is well bootbacked, the bergeschrund had a good snowbridge over it. The gates are looking more jagged than pearly, the right gate looks like 15' of steep ice, the left one was 10' of steep hard ice. the summit ridge is well bootpacked, and there's a bit of a cornice on the summit. it was also f#!*ing beautiful. Quote
cluck Posted June 15, 2009 Posted June 15, 2009 The hogsback is well bootbacked, the bergeschrund had a good snowbridge over it. Hey guys - a bit of friendly advice here. There's no reason to go all the way up/over the bergie unless you are heading to the pearly gates. For the standard Old Chute option it's safer to stay low across Hot Rocks and then climb straight up the chute. Climbing over the bergie and then doing a high-traverse over to the Old Chute needlessly exposes you to 1) ice fall from the cliffs immediately above you 2) a long tumble if you slip while traversing 3) a crevasse fall into the bergie Traversing low across Hot Rocks before heading up the Old Chute significantly lessens these risks. That' why most (if not all) guided groups are doing the low traverse this year. Stay safe and see you up there! Quote
rocky_joe Posted June 15, 2009 Posted June 15, 2009 Paul- The gates are no longer a viable option for an easy trip up Hood. From the both the photos and what I saw they appeared to be WI3. The Chute is pretty much the standard these days, esp since the Hogsback forms a lot further left than in past years. Good advice about traversing low. I've been up the SS 2x this year both times traversing about half way between the schrund and hot rocks...I like to get some uphill on the traverse and save myself from a couple hundred extra feet of straight uphill. But definitely don't traverse above the schrund, no point in crossing it these days. Quote
Maple Syrup Posted June 15, 2009 Posted June 15, 2009 I went up the left gate and wouldn't say it's not viable, but I would recommend having a second tool, ice screws and be comfortable leading on ice. Quote
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