mtn_woman Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Trip: Mt Hood - Devil's Kitchen Headwall Date: 12/3/2009 Trip Report: Jed and I left Portland at 10:30pm on Wednesday Dec 2nd and rolled into the empty Timberline parking lot just before midnight. Weather was completely clear and 25 degrees, with a gentle wind. We geared up and hit the cat track around 12:30am. It was a long, slippery skin on compact, styrofoam snow up to the top of the Palmer. We finally stashed our skis around 3am. From there we made our way up to crater rock just below the hogsback. Under the light of the full moon we didn't use headlamps, and the snow was still soft enough that we didn't need to use crampons. The top ~3 inches was packed styrofoam, but at points we would punch through that into a softer snow layer. At ~5am we had a good view of the Devil's Kitchen headwall and assessed our route options. The middle chute (1c variation) was a dark canyon and we had heard there was not much ice cover, so we decided to opt for the right chute (1d variation). We traversed across the bowl below the hogsback toward the headwall, and started to notice small pea-size to golf-ball sized ice falling off the headwall down the snow toward us. Once we were below the right chute we were out of the way of the icefall and stopped to gear up. We started climbing up to the base of the chute ~6:30am. Approaching the chute ~6:30am The chute was in great condition. It was mostly ice, between 45-60 degrees, with a little snow in between the 2 steps. The ice was relatively soft so our tools sunk in very nicely. There are 2 steps in the chute. The first one had some really good features to use for footholds and lots of options for tool placements. Jed climbing up the first step in the 1d variation At the top of the first step, there are 2 options for the 2nd step. We heard another party tried doing the step on the left and had to retreat off vertical rime ice, so we opted for the step on the right. This was the correct option (thanks for the beta Brad!), and it had more snow cover in the first section, so it was a mix between plunging our tools and using them to sink into hard snow/ice. We topped out onto a relatively steep snow ridge right along the Wy'East route. In the first step, looking up toward the 2nd step. We followed the option on the right. Toward the top of the 2nd step - a mix between plunging the axe in snow and swinging into ice/hard snow. Topping out onto the steep ridgeline behind DKHW and Steel Cliffs. From here, we followed the Wy'East route to the top. The snow was still relatively compacted styrofoam, but there were some sections around rocks that sounded hollow so good tool sticks were a necessity to navigate good footholds. The route was already pre-packed down though from previous parties, so our navigation was straightforward. Jed starting to traverse the Wy'East from where we topped out in the chute Jed with our tracks in the background The tricky parts of the Wy'East involved navigating around icy bulges and hollow snow. Jed is about to make his way around an icy bulge, which involved a little downclimbing. We reached the summit at 9:45am and had it to ourselves. We ate lunch and took in the views and headed down around 10:15. It was very calm and temps still appeared to be in the 20's. Some clouds had moved in, esp on the east side at lower elevations and a thin wispy layer up high. Summit success, with devil horns to celebrate climbing in the Devil's Kitchen. Some clouds had moved in but it was still very calm on the summit. A look out to the East from the Summit And who would we run into on the summit ridge but these shady characters, hahaha…. Good to see you, Trung and Katie! Fellow rogue climbers The chute was in good condition, with stable snow good for downclimbing and kicking steps, and probably good for skiing once the sun hits it. Overall a great climb, thanks Jed for a stellar first mixed climbing experience! Also thanks to Bill and Wim for letting me borrow their tools, and to Brad and Adam for the route conditions and weather beta. You guys rock! Approach notes: snow conditions made skinning very tough on the way up. we had to side hill it at times to avoid sliding backward. the ski down was also survival skiing mode, not pretty. Gear notes: Used: 2 tools Didn't use but brought with us: 30m rope, 4 screws, 4 pickets AND a glacier rig (crevasse rescue, etc) We also wore beacons and each brought a shovel and probe, but conditions were stable Gear Notes: Used: 2 tools Didn't use but brought with us: 30m rope, 4 screws, 4 pickets AND a glacier rig (crevasse rescue, etc) We also wore beacons and each brought a shovel and probe, but conditions were stable Approach Notes: snow conditions made skinning very tough on the way up. we had to side hill it at times to avoid sliding backward. the ski down was also survival skiing mode, not pretty. Quote
jlawrence10 Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Hey, those tracks on Wy'East were from us on Wednesday (see trip report)... Glad they helped, and glad WE went the right way. Question: As a less experienced climber, I was unsure about the "snow" conditions on the short traverse over those cliffs, just before you round the corner into the last push up to the summit slopes. Basically 2 inch ice crust over a foot of loose sugar. Did you have any apprehension about soloing that stuff, or did it feel ok to you? Or maybe our bootpack was so money you didn't even notice? Nice climb! Quote
mtn_woman Posted December 4, 2009 Author Posted December 4, 2009 Haha, awesome! Thanks for the heavy lifting kicking in steps for us Yeah that section you mentioned was a tough one. I think the additional day of sun helped consolidate the snow a bit more and froze your steps in place overnight, but it would not be suitable for a large group. After I climbed up the steps and felt it was starting to get fragile, Jed took an alternate path to intersect the boot track again. That section was tough because there's no way you could really protect it... you'd have to traverse pretty far back to a place to rope up, then stack the pieces heavy before you get over there... The snow was consolidated enough by the time we got over there that we still felt ok continuing, but if it was any softer we may have turned around to rope up at some point. Glad you made it through there safely! Quote
mtn_woman Posted December 4, 2009 Author Posted December 4, 2009 Also, just read your TR - I think time of day may also have been a factor. We were out of there by 9am so the snow hadn't had as much a chance to soften. I agree with you though - no good options for pro in that section! Quote
mtn_woman Posted December 4, 2009 Author Posted December 4, 2009 some folks have asked about roping up in the ice chute. We were able to get great sticks with our tools and crampons, and felt comfortable with both our technique and the angle of the snow/ice, so we decided not to rope up. This seemed to be the trend from the other TR's we had read, but we questioned that decision until we got there and saw it for ourselves. Quote
godskid5 Posted December 12, 2009 Posted December 12, 2009 Wow, amazing pics. Great job, looks fun! Quote
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