JohnGo Posted August 23, 2009 Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) Trip: Mt. Hood - Cathedral Ridge Date: 6/8/2009 Trip Report: I climbed this route with my good friends from Portland Kari Friedelwald and David Byrne a few months back. It was Hood route #13 for me, and had been on the list for awhile. Here's some beta on this remote climb. See a complete photo gallery at: http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/ [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20025%20route.jpg[/img] The route we took Times: Topspur trailhead to McNeil Point: 3 hours, mostly all in snow, GPS was very handy McPoint to summit: a leisurely 8.5 hours Summit to Timberline: about 2 hours, with some long breaks. I made it from Crater Rock to the car in about 35 minutes with the awesome glissade device, yay! Total: about 11 hours, camp to Timberline. We drove up to Timberline, left one car there, piled into the remaining car, and drove it pretty much around to the opposite side of mountain to the Topspur trailhead. Be sure you have good driving directions to the trailhead; we got a bit turned around going in. Tip: After you turn off Lolo Pass road, do NOT turn right over a bridge and cross the bridge over the Sandy River; bear left and head upriver instead. We were able to park about ½ mile from the trailhead, instead of getting stopped way down the road by snow. We were pretty darn happy to find that! Once the trail started up from the road, it was immediately snow-covered for the entire way. Being the navigator geek that I am, I had about 12 GPS waypoints for the route up to McNeil Point. These were quite handy to have, as I had not been on this trail for a few years. Hint: there is a reason why it's called the Top Spur trail. Most of the way up to McNeil Point is indeed on top of a fairly pronounced spur. Fortunately the snow was quite firm and easy to walk on through the trees. (I've never even tried snowshoes, and I hope never to do so.) Following GPS points and the occasional boot track of previous wandering hikers, we made it to McNeil Point in about three hours (about 2,000 foot gain). [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/lost.JPG[/img] A difference of opinion about the approach route The cube shaped stone shelter, with a few bags of garbage and assorted detritus from previous visitors and a bare dirt floor, do not look very inviting when we first step inside. But after we got settled in, snuggled into our bivi bags and brewed up to the first cup of soup, things started to get pretty cozy. The ground outside was pretty much all snow-covered, so staying inside the shelter was a pretty good plan. We decided to only bring one stove, and cut it pretty close with the fuel. Note to self: one tiny gas canister for a Jetboil stove and three people is not quite enough, if you need to melt snow for water. [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20018.jpg[/img] David chill-axing at McNeil Point shelter. Note grim weather . . . The whole way up was pretty much walking inside of a cloud, with heavy mist and about 100 foot visibility. We were trying to keep our spirits up, but we knew that this same weather the next morning would not be much fun to climb in. The low cloud cover stayed with us through the evening, and we went to bed trying to think happy weather thoughts. The alarms went off at three. David stuck his head outside, and reported swirly fog and low visibility. He suggested sleeping another hour, which we promptly agreed to. Four o'clock came all too quickly, but it was now or never. We packed up, had a quick breakfast and started up through the low heather fields above camp. And then came one of those glorious weather breaks that's you just dream for when you're in the mountains. About 500 feet above camp, the cloud above started to fade, in a few more steps we had glided into a bluebird morning. The amazing break in the weather was somewhat daunted by the view above; we could now clearly see the entire route, and it looked like a very long and circuitous way to the top where we were. After about a 10 minute back-and-forth discussion along the lines of: should we go on, should we bail because we're getting a late start, we went for it. Ice axes out, crampons on, and we stepped out onto a long flat snow traverse which would lead eventually out into the ridge. [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20026.jpg[/img] Kari, looking good on the lower snow traverse After so much snow down below in the trees, it was surprising to see bare rock on almost all of the route above us. At the end of the long flat snow traverse stretch, we were quite happy to find a bit of running water at the base of the snowfield. We all topped off our water bottles here. There was one trickle of water higher up as well, but this was all we saw on the route. The rock on Mt. Hood is so porous that any surface water almost immediately disappears down the cracks. A majority of the route was fairly solid third class talus, with two or three steep snow pitches just before Queen’s Chair. This was not the “make 3 steps up, slide back 1” evil scree of St. Helens, but actually pretty decently consolidated talus. (Well, maybe decent by Oregon Cascades standards.) [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20034.jpg[/img] Kari ascending 3rd class talus and 30 degree snow after passing the gumdrop on the right There are two significant route features that we saw easily from low down. The lower, left prominent feature we called the shark's fin. This is a pretty obvious large dorsal fin looking rock gendarme. Above this a few hundred feet is another much larger block on the ridge we called the gumdrop. We gained the ridge above the shark fin and below the gumdrop. The gumdrop was easily passed on the right. Note: The guidebook talks about bypassing the two “prominent gendarmes” on the left. Because these were the two obvious rock features we can see from low down, we thought that the shark fin and the gumdrop were the two gendarmes mentioned in the guidebook. They are not! The actual two gendarmes are about 500 feet above the gumdrop. This is an important route detail that we did not figure out until we were well under way. Note to self: Whoever is out in front scouting the route should have the rope and some pro. I ended up mostly in front doing route scouting. David and Kari were five or 10 minutes back. I ended up soloing two pitches, thinking about halfway up, “Damn, I should really be trailing a rope for my partners behind me.” This was especially true on the second to last pitch near the top. David and Kari both kept it together and soloed the steep part in good style, but it was an unnecessary risk. So, we continued up the easy talus above the gumdrop to the first of the two gendarmes. This is where the ridge becomes narrower and starts to drop off a bit more abruptly to either side. I stepped around to the left and moved out, following the path of least resistance on about half 45 degree snow and half third class loose rock. It definitely got my full attention, because below me was about a 3,000 foot tumble to the base of Barrett Spur. The climbing was fairly easy, but as everything up to this point had been pretty much a stroll in the Park, I had to mentally shift gears pretty quickly. This was for sure a “DFU” pitch if you are soloing. [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20040.jpg[/img] First of 2 crux pitches, passing the first gendarme on the left Thankfully, this pitch had a nice flat bit at the top for some R&R before the next one. As is typical in the mountains, foreshortening made the last pitch look quite a bit steeper and longer than it actually was, at least my eye. David took the lead, sinking one picket early, and then running at out about 80 feet on steep hard snice. He then topped out on the flatlands where he sank another solid picket. Kari and I simulclimbed behind him, with me cleaning at the caboose. With my limited ice climbing skills, I was extremely glad I brought my second ice tool at this point in the program. This was an honest 50°, a “DFU” 3,000 foot run out below, and sinking front crampon points only about an inch. [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20041.jpg[/img] Second and last crux pitch, 50 degree snice a few hundred feet below Queen's Chair About 200 feet more of low angle snow led us to the Queen’s Chair. From there, it was just a slog through the rime ice to the summit rim. [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20044.jpg[/img] Looking back at Kari and upper Yocum Ridge [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20043.jpg[/img] David, above the clouds at Queen's Chair Because we topped out just after 2 p.m. and were quite concerned about soft snow going down through the crater, we chose not to go over in tag the actual top, which was about 20 feet above our highest point. We descended the Old Chute, plunging in occasionally to mid thigh in the softening wet snow. It was little spooky, but we kept good spacing and all watched one another in case of an avalanche. I chose to move as quickly as I could through this hazardous terrain. The final way back to safe ground was the climber boot track, which led directly over the fumarole on the north side of Crater Rock. I've seen this area over many years, and the bottomless crevasse hole that is always here never fails to send a shiver up my spine. Yet here was an obviously well used boot track on snow that went right over the hot rocks. Was the snow 20 feet thick, or 2 feet thick? We didn’t know, and after coming this far being safe and conservative, we didn’t want to find out. We broke out the rope one more time, tied in, and crossed this last potential landmine over to the safety of the lower Hogsback. [img:center]http://www.outdoordads.org/cathedral/album/slides/2009%20June%20045.jpg[/img] Boot track over fumarole, lower Hogsback From here was the descent I have done so many times, but I think this time was an actual record: from the bottom of crater rock to the car was less than one hour. I slid the entire Palmer snowfield in about 10 minutes, using my awesome hard black plastic glissade mat. Weaving among snowboarders I made my way to the car, took out my sleeping mat and laid down in the shade, awaiting my non-glissading pals 45 minutes behind me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overall, this is a very nice route on a seldom visited side of the peak that more people should try. I hope this trip report motivates someone to give it a go. Feel free to PM me for more beta. Gear Notes: We found really only two pitches we needed to rope up for, the last two pitches before the Queen's Chair. Suggested gear: three pickets, two or three medium stoppers or tri cams, a second tool with a hammer head, and maybe two or three knife blade or angle pitons. Overall, it is only slightly more technical route than the south side. Approach Notes: Approaching from Timberline Lodge would have been a completely different experience, not necessarily better or worse. If going any earlier then early June Timberline would be the better choice, as the access roads on the north side would likely be snowed in and mandating a longer approach slog on the snowy road. Edited August 23, 2009 by JohnGo Quote
WageSlave Posted August 23, 2009 Posted August 23, 2009 Awesome to see a TR of a rarely done route on Hood. Nice job to you all. Quote
mountainmatt Posted August 24, 2009 Posted August 24, 2009 Nice work! Looks like a pretty fun route to get on. Thanks for the info Quote
LostCamKenny Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 Good to see that someone still gets over to that side of the mountain - looks real remote and f**king awesome! Quote
Frikadeller Posted September 1, 2009 Posted September 1, 2009 Nice work!! I just read a reprint of Fred McNeil's "mount hood". and he describes this route as one of the "unclimbable routes by mere mortal men. Only "stunt" climbers would attempt this route"... Looks like you're a "stunt climber" now. Quote
ChrisO Posted April 3, 2011 Posted April 3, 2011 Hi JohnGo, could you provide a photo or further description of your "awesome hard black plastic glissade mat"? Thanks! Quote
JohnGo Posted April 22, 2011 Author Posted April 22, 2011 Hi JohnGo, could you provide a photo or further description of your "awesome hard black plastic glissade mat"? Thanks! It's a flat sheet of thin durable plastic, with a opening at one end for your hand. Weight is about 8 ounces. I can sit on it and have butt and pack resting on the sled, not the snow. I bought it at Big 5 sports at the end of the snow season a few years back for about $5. Normally I am not a big glissade advocate, but for some peaks it makes sense. Highly recommended for Hood descents. -jg Quote
JohnGo Posted April 22, 2011 Author Posted April 22, 2011 Nice work!! I just read a reprint of Fred McNeil's "mount hood". and he describes this route as one of the "unclimbable routes by mere mortal men. Only "stunt" climbers would attempt this route"... Looks like you're a "stunt climber" now. Well, I now have 25+ summits by 14 different routes on Hood, so this one had to be done sooner or later. I'd say its about the easiest technical route on the mountain, other than the south side routes. Anyone who says it's hard prolly has not tried it. -John Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.