Mt Hood

[ivan]

if you want to soak up the goodness of mt hood you could still do the 44 mile timberline trail that circumnavigates the mtn - you might still be able to squeak up the sunshine route on the n side of the mtn

[mthorman]

With the recent hot weather, there are going to be rocks coming down all over that mountain. Personally I would not climb it this time of year. As for other options look up Eldorado Peak. It is probably a little longer than Hood and has more elevation gain, but it is a great peak with a spectacular view of the North Cascades. Has some glaciers to cross and a steep hike at the beginning. There are several TRs on this webpage, and summitpost.org has a really good description as well.

[ivan]

sunshine has no rockfall worries, but the upper shrund could make getting on cathedral ridge no me gusta

[Hal1]

I knew it was out of ideal season but couldn't find too much on the forums with specifics as to why-thanks for the heads-up.

 

If I was to go up just to practice some skills, rather than to summit, can anyone recommend some good areas around timberline? (I'll catching the bus in so Timebrline is accessible).

 

 

[Hal1]

gkartashov82, Mt Adams might be alright. I climbed it in September last year and it was fine. Lots of people up there though. Not a technical climb but gets you to 12000'-something.

 

PM me if you want another climber- I'm at a bit of a loose end.

[ivan]

seems like many folks climb mt jefferson this time of year too and it's just as cool as hood and not much further off

[Water]

South ridge route on Jeff, long killer scree but beautiful and solitaire.

 

North sister more burly navigation but right time of year to scramble it without all the hardware.

 

Tack on middle for extra fun.

 

Hood, you could go for it but the only people who really climb it this time of year seem to be experts or idiots, not trying to offend but that's the honest to god truth.

[gkartashov82]

Hey all

 

thanks a lot for responses and providing valuable information. I've looked on past trip reports, and while there are very few TR from August, I found some and they way people describe them it looks pretty easy (links below). May be it were the conditions that were different in these summers?

 

Now my buddy and I need to decide if we going to try hood or do one of your recommended places (Jeff or others)

 

thanks

August reports:

1.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/976714/1

 

2.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/974049/TR_Mt_Hood_SS_dog_8_20_2010#Post974049

 

3.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1038222/TR_Mt_Hood_South_Slope_via_WCR#Post1038222

 

4.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1079633/TR_Mt_Hood_South_Side_8_17_201#Post1079633

[pcg]

it looks pretty easy...

It is easy. I think you're missing the point. It's dangerous.

[Ben Beckerich]

So am I an expert or an idiot, Matt?

 

The question is totally subjective, GK. All anyone can do is give you an opinion. People climb all August long and even into September. I've never climbed in August (probably 7 or 8 times) and been alone. I've never been hit by rock in August, never seen anyone else hit in August, and I'm not aware of any rockfall tragedies in August.

 

It's a shitty time of year to climb for a lot of reasons, and it's just sub-par for a first climb. If you have an itch that must be scratched, climb it. Know that if you catch a groundball to the face at 80mph, it's not going to be pretty. If that's an acceptable risk to you, climb on.

 

I think that's the best anyone can do for you.

[Water]

Rephrase: making the choice to climb it at this time of year (south side at least) is generally done from a depth of expertise or a lack thereof.

 

If I may so graciously quote from Bill Mullee's wonderful Mt. Hood Climber's Guide: (and apologies if this is not allowed--delete/I'll remove)

 

Climbing Seasons:

Summer (July through September)

Alpine Climbing draws to a close by the end of June as freezing levels rise to expose bare rock and ice patches. Crevasses open up over the course of a summer.....

Spontaneous rockfall during the summer months becomes increasingly severe both in scope and magnitude. By early to mid July, all alpine climbing routes on Mt. Hood have disappeared until fall. Alternate activities exist~~~~(ice climbing on the eliot, rock climbing below the sandy glacier, picking huckleberries, backpacking)

 

South Side Direct routes:

Months to climb: December-June

Not Recommended: August-November

 

----

 

not a forum conspiracy that most people don't climb this time of year and generally avoid it. There is anecdotal evidence (a few TRs and such) and there are trends and guidelines (book recommendations). Some characters go up in late season...this first one you linked is an anti-guide to climbing this time of year, a real 'how not to do this'. Like the instructions for installing a gas stove that begin with 'make sure the gas is on':

August reports:

1.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/976714/1

[gkartashov82]

 

 

this first one you linked is an anti-guide to climbing this time of year, a real 'how not to do this'. Like the instructions for installing a gas stove that begin with 'make sure the gas is on':

August reports:

1.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/976714/1

 

haha, that's true! Thanks all for responses! You gave us lots of valuable info. We'll be flying to Portland anyway and will decide closer to the weekend what we are going to do.

[gkartashov82]

hey all!

thanks again for advices. my friend and I decided to try Hood today anyway -we reached top of hogsback, and decided not to proceed further as (i) bergcshrund is huge and impassabe; (ii) traversing to the left is danegorous due to lots of vertical and horizontal crevasses; (iii) ongoing rockfall.

 

it was still fun climb though!

 

ps: couple of people climbed today - they started much earlier and went a different route - passed cathedral rock on the lef (not on thr right as usually)

[gkartashov82]

And here are some photos from Hogsback so that you see what conditions look like now

Edited August 13, 2014 by gkartashov82

[YocumRidge]

Cloud Cap road #3512 is now closed again due to ice and snow on the road as of Oct 28th:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mthood/alerts-notices/?aid=25768

 

[ivan]

so much for the easy picking of the north face plum this fall

[Ben Beckerich]

so much for the easy picking of the north face plum this fall

 

Do you have beta? Is it looking like an early season on the Nordwand?

[ColinB]

Anyone snapped any photos of I Rock from Timberline recently? Would love to see how icy its getting. Thanks in advance!

[catstack]

I'm thinking about heading up south side tomorrow morning. I have always gone up in the winter and spring so i'm not sure what to expect this time of the year. It looks like a good amount of snow has come down and temperatures have been pretty low.

[Water]

expect insane wind. it's been averaging 50mph at 7,000ft on hood for the last 12 hours, gusting to 65-70, never dropping below 40.

 

i am sure things are frozen 'tight' together up high.

 

[catstack]

Thanks for the heads up, that's more then I was seeing at www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Hood/forecasts/1500

 

Where are you getting your info, it would be good to save that for the future.

[Water]

raw telemetry straight from the mountain:

 

http://kantola.nl/plots/osotim.png

 

it eased from 50 down to 40 today but has only in the last hour even dipped below 30. still gusting to 45mph. At 15 degrees.. bundled up maybe it's nice to get out but even more than rain, cold, heat, wind can be a real bitch. Mountain-forecast has 25mph winds at 5000ft coming out of the NW.. I don't so much trust that site, that's stupid, why would they list a west wind? It's coming out of the E at Timberline and East-Northeast at the top of magic mile. Then they said East wind at 5mph at the summit.. If there is a 40mph wind hitting the East side of the mountain, there is no way in hell there is a 5mph wind at the summit. They have 10mph wind out of the Northwest for the 8200ft level--again, real stupid. Either a computer just extrapolates these or the people involved in producing them are doing a poor job, either way does not help a climber. Sorry not an attack on you just I really hate chincy weather sites like that and weather.com and such.

 

 

 

if you can believe it, it is actually warmer and less windy at 10k on Rainier at camp muir than top of Magic Mile on Hood.

http://kantola.nl/plots/osomur.png

 

Goes to show the proximity to the cold inter-continental air coming through the gorge.

 

 

Edited November 12, 2014 by Water

[Dylan Colon]

I have a relatively newbish question. I've climbed Mt. Hood before via the south side, so I'm mildly familiar with the mountain. I've also climbed North Sister and attempted Jefferson Park Glacier, both in relatively icy conditions, so I'm reasonably aware of the mechanics of easy ice climbing, glacier travel, etc.

 

A similarly experienced friend of mine and I are considering maybe trying to thread the weather window that it looks like is happening this Sunday. The one thing I'm not so sure about is what the avalanche danger will be like and I was wondering if I could get some advice from some of the more experienced members of this forum, with the obvious caveat that I am ultimately responsible for my own safety, regardless of what anyone says. I noticed there are currently pretty strong south winds at the top of Magic Mile (30-40 mph). I've been thinking of trying either the south side again or Leuthold Couloir. I'd consider Cooper Spur, but I imagine the approach will be pretty long right now.

 

Any advice or condition reports would be greatly appreciated.

 

EDIT: Based on what I can see it seems like a pretty sketchy proposition, and probably a no go, but I'd still like to hear from some experienced community members about which routes have less danger overall in the winter months.

Edited November 14, 2014 by Dylan Colon

[pcg]

Short of being onsite and examining conditions, you can look at two web sites:

 

http://www.nwac.us/avalanche-forecast/current/mt-hood/

Too early in the year for this site to be up and giving info. Check back in a week or two.

 

http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Hood/forecasts/2500

This one is a weather site and gives info all year long. Note that there is a pretty dramatic temperature spike upward on Sunday. After all the current snow and wind, a transition from below freezing to above is a red flag for me and therefore I would not attempt.

 

If you really want to know the conditions you would have to head up and examine the snow, but with the predicted warming on Sunday and my inclination towards caution and laziness, I say why bother. Many people employ all sorts of techniques for studying snow conditions in an attempt to find safe conditions on marginal days. It is possible that the sun today and tomorrow will break loose any wind slabs and Sunday will be fine. If you were an expert in examining snow you might go up Sunday and check conditions. But even if you were, why play with fire? I err on the side of caution and if one red flag goes up, I'm out.

 

If conditions hardened up again after Sunday's warming then you are probably looking at the beginning of a safe window and it would be worth going up and examining the snow. But... oops... looks like snow and wind are back again on Monday. Be patient and a window will come.

Edited November 14, 2014 by pcg

[Dylan Colon]

Thanks, that pretty much confirms my suspicions. I'm definitely no expert in analyzing snow in the field, so it seems this one is a solid no. I'm definitely in no hurry to do a winter conditions ascent of this mountain, so I'll wait for a good safe window, because dying on Mount Hood when I could have just waited would be pretty stupid.

 

I had checked those sites. My one hope was that the south wind was strong enough and consistent enough that the south-facing slopes wouldn't see much accumulation, but I suppose that's a tough proposition for a windward slope the size of the entire south face of Mount Hood.