[TR] Mt. Hood - South Side/Hogsback 9/13/2009

[shinsain]

Trip: Mt. Hood - South Side/Hogsback

 

Date: 9/13/2009

 

Trip Report:

Well...so, this is my first post on CC, but I figured I'd give a trip report because we certainly couldn't find one [a recent one... ] before we went and I wish we had so we'd have known not to go on the SS/HB route.

 

Quick Cliff Notes: it sucked, go another route. All the noted about rockfall are true, it's horrible this time of year. There's no snow, the chute above HB is completely snow free but the lower half is caked in ice.

 

Long version:

 

On the 12-13 myself, my best friend Bryon and our friend Jeff had planned to hustle up Hood for our first time. I am with a charity called Climb for Kids and had set up one (possibly last) climb for the season to try and raise some cash after Rainier last month. Upon recommendations from Matt, the director of the charity, I decided on Hood instead of Baker or Adams The Boring.

 

We started out at about 1am on the morning of the 13th and had a beautiful moon-lit and headlamp-less trek past the Timberline chairlifts and up to Crater Rock. When we reached Crater Rock where we were going to cross onto the hogsback we noticed two things: one, that it wasn't going to be easy to get on to the hogsback (had we been up there more than once we could have taken a much easier route) and two, there was a huge gap from the hogsback to the chute one is supposed to take up to the top.

 

From what we'd read and what folks had told us this was supposed to be fairly straightforward. We'd brought a 30m rope, picket, various slings and other things just in case, but figured we wouldn't need it. It was a good thing we had them. We crossed a small snow bridge to the lower right of the huge gap from the high side to the upper part of the hogsback and decided to split up to reach the summit. I kept my crampons and went directly up the chute while Bryon and Jeff took theirs off and thought it would be more comfortable for them up the rocks to the right.

 

Short of the long: I eventually climbed to a place about 150 feet (?) from the summit where I simply couldn't go any higher and they got stopped on the rocks to the right. We rejoined at the upper part of the chute and had to downclimb. We would have had a much easier time using a 60m rope but instead we had to improvise with the 30m taking turns on anchors and belays that were arguably against our common sense but the only choices for protection we could find. All in all we toiled in the chute for 5 hours between trying to ascend and then descend safely, never actually reaching the summit. If you are up there, grab our prusik attached to the totally sketchy rope above the icy part of the chute, and our sling...both of which we couldn't retrieve. *hangs head in shame*

 

We finally reached the bottom of the chute, took a rest, and continued down at about noon when we saw two guys just coming up towards us (late summit attempt much?). They tried to ascend a completely impassable part directly above the upper part of the hogsback (why??? it was obviously not the right way) and eventually turned back. We walked down watching bicycle-size rocks falling and hearing other slides and rockfall, eventually reaching Timberline.

 

When we got back to Seattle, I took a look at one of our guides, the "100 Climbs in the Cascades" and saw the ONE sentence noting that late season was crap and that the chute could become "dangerously icy," etc, etc.

 

So, it's probably common knowledge that the route's garbage this time of year but at least someone can learn from our mistakes. We didn't happen to find any trip reports since around the 1st of August. Maybe we didn't look hard enough.

 

Pictures can be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shinsain/collections/72157622378264284/

 

Aaron

 

 

Gear Notes:

Could use a 60m rope for possible downclimbing issues, but a 30m and some ingenuity "worked." Crampons/ice ax. Not sure how you'd protect the upper part of the chute. No avvy transceiver needed. Helmet (force field would be nice) for extreme rockfall hazard.

 

Approach Notes:

It's Hood. Drive up to Timberline.

Edited September 16, 2009 by shinsain

[ivan]

congrats on your failed suicide attempt!

 

the best way to the top of hood this time of year is via helicopter

[shinsain]

Slitting my wrists didn't work last time. Figured I'd try something more novel.

 

We're parachuting in next weekend.

[rocky_joe]

you couldn't find a TR? wow, now i've heard it all.

[justinp]

you couldn't find a TR? wow, now i've heard it all.

 

Shinsain obviously found out the hard way that you don’t climb hood at this time of year. No reason to bag on the guy joe....

[shinsain]

you couldn't find a TR? wow, now i've heard it all.

Meh.

 

Find one on that route for me that's recent. When you don't, I won't be mad.

[shinsain]

you couldn't find a TR? wow, now i've heard it all.

 

Shinsain obviously found out the hard way that you don’t climb hood at this time of year. No reason to bag on the guy joe....

 

Had we known we'd have simply picked another route. Oh well. I'll be back soon to try another way to the top.

[DonnieK]

 

Find one on that route for me that's recent. When you don't, I won't be mad.

 

 

Ummm, there's a very good reason you can't find any recent TRs. You experienced that reason firsthand....the mountain is currently a pile of choss.

 

Live and learn.

[NateF]

you couldn't find a TR? wow, now i've heard it all.

 

Shinsain obviously found out the hard way that you don’t climb hood at this time of year. No reason to bag on the guy joe....

 

Sounds like he learned not to climb Hood at this time of year, but is somehow blaming the lack of recent trip reports (hmmm, is that a clue?) and the guide book for bad decision making. Not sure how many sentences would be required in the guide book to get the point across. I don't think he would have had to ask too many people (besides Matt the Director) before being steered towards another objective.

[justinp]

you couldn't find a TR? wow, now i've heard it all.

Meh.

 

Find one on that route for me that's recent. When you don't, I won't be mad.

 

here is a TR from a dude from Oklahoma buried in a recent hood conditions thread

[ivan]

there are no good routes on hood this time year, w/ the possible exception of cathedral ridge? wait till late fall, or go rock climb on i-rock.

[shinsain]

Wow. Nate, elitist much? I didn't hear myself blaming anything or anyone except my lack of missing a sentence in a guide book and not finding a recent trip report. That's my fault, no one else's.

 

At any rate, I'm a no harm no foul type of folk, so now I can pass on what I've learned. We had fun doing it and most importantly of all: we all got down safe.

 

I think for the select few (two) of you who are a bit rough you should probably turn the lens on yourselves -- and keep it there. If you're a senior climber, younger ones will tend to listen to you more if you teach them rather than chide them. Some folks aren't capable of that, however...and I understand.

 

Justnip: I saw that report before but looked more at the date of 26 July and probably should have done a better job of parsing the data. We'd still have gone, but it would have aided in picking a better route.

 

Edit: Nate, also as for asking Matt, he originally brought this up as a good climb and after seeing my pictures and reading the trip report apologized because he wasn't aware it got this bad in late season. Things like this do happen (although apparently not in your world).

Edited September 16, 2009 by shinsain

[rocky_joe]

you couldn't find a TR? wow, now i've heard it all.

Meh.

 

Find one on that route for me that's recent. When you don't, I won't be mad.

 

it's a terrible shame you didn't say in your TR that you were looking for a recent TR. Don't be mad, you didn't qualify your statement. Believe it or not, when you say "I couldn't find a TR on a route," and fail to include key words like September, this time of year, this date, similar conditions, etc. you kinda set yourself up for my comment.

 

Anyhow, it wouldn't seem you've learned your lessons. DON'T CLIMB MT. HOOD IN SEPTEMBER VIA ANY ROUTE. South side was probably your "safest" bet. All the other routes WILL be DEADLY this time of year. Wait for the snow.

[shinsain]

What good is a month and a half old report for a climber? Are you actually trying to say that I needed to notify you that a trip report should be "recent?"

 

Now you're just being silly.

 

[ivan]

it'd be cool to see someone do a tr for climbing the s side this time of year in a full-on football uniform - helmet, shoulderpads, rib-protectors, padded pants, etc.

[justinp]

it'd be cool to see someone do a tr for climbing the s side this time of year in a full-on football uniform - helmet, shoulderpads, rib-protectors, padded pants, etc.

 

Ivan don't encourage them

[Swade]

When are conditions on Mt Hood likely to become favorable? I'm looking forward to getting up there this season.

[shinsain]

Ivan: I was thinking that plus that gear the downhill mountain bikers wear as well. Maybe some spikes on the shoulder pads Mad Max style.

 

I'd also like to know when conditions will improve...late Jan/Feb? Sometime after new snow settles and it's still cold?

[ivan]

I'd also like to know when conditions will improve...late Jan/Feb? Sometime after new snow settles and it's still cold?

good thin ice climbs to the summit are often in by late october/early november - last year i did a very casual walk up the s side the first week of decemeber

[Frikadeller]

Most people climb the south side in late winter, early spring. If you wait till early summer/late spring it's a complete clusterfuck with hoardes of climbers going up, and skiers/snowboarders kicking snice on them from above.

 

Here is a SLOW day climbing in the late spring.

 

 

(Not my picture, but makes the point.)

[Maine-iac]

Just wondering, but when was that photo taken? The Gates have not looked like that for the last few years....

[YocumRidge]

you couldn't find a TR? wow, now i've heard it all.

Meh.

 

Find one on that route for me that's recent. When you don't, I won't be mad.

 

So, if there are no recent TRs then does not that tell you the obvious?

[YocumRidge]

These photos were taken when I climbed the Old Chute on 06-30-09 and that was pushing the reasonable limits in this particular year.

 

But browse my other pics of the Hood's summit as of 05-30-09 to see the one month difference in the conditions.

 

 

 

 

 

[YocumRidge]

I'd also like to know when conditions will improve...late Jan/Feb? Sometime after new snow settles and it's still cold?

good thin ice climbs to the summit are often in by late october/early november - last year i did a very casual walk up the s side the first week of decemeber

 

Ivan - the summit ridge's "thin ice" was actually quite thick...

 

OlegV and myself tried to climbed it via West Crater rim the same day in December 08 and had to retreat. But our "walk up" did not include the rope though, just two tools.