[TR] Mt. Hood - South Side - Old Crater Variation 6/25/2011

[invinciblejj]

Trip: Mt. Hood - South Side - Old Crater Variation

 

Date: 6/25/2011

 

Trip Report:

This is my first post on here. I have been a long time lurker using this forum to get updates on conditions for my trips. The help has been much appreciated. I have written up a longer version of this trip report on my own site if interested: YMMV Reviews http://ymmvreviews.com/adv/mt-hood-climb/.

 

This was my first trip up Mt. Hood and I had been planning it all spring. The other 3 guys I was going with did not have a lot of experience so we decided to take the standard route to the top. Friday night ahd a favorable forecast with a lower freezing level and gusty winds dying down after midnight. I know a lot of people climb Mt. Hood but I was still suprised by the amount of people I saw on the mountain. We all had to work on Friday and we were not able to get any sleep before heading to the mountain. For next time we know we need some sleep before going.

 

 

We got to the mountain at about 11:15 and started hiking around midnight. We were all a little envious of those taking the Snow-Cat's up. The snow was nice and crusty and made for good hiking up to the Palmer Lift. The wind was blowing pretty solid so we wanted to keep moving to stay warm. Up from the cat-track we tried to follow other steps in the snow and looked for headlamps above. After descending in the morning we found out we could have taken a more direct route than we did.

 

 

One of the fellas had to bail on us around 7,000 feet and another one did at Devil's Kitchen. I myself was not doing well with the altitude and I felt worse every time I got a big whiff of sulfur. We continued up from Devil's Kitchen with our Ice Axes out and followed the throngs of people. The morning had broken nice and clear and all the features I had studied and read about we now in my view. On top of the hogsback you could see the bergschrund was open and I did not think there was much space for my climbing partner to arrest if he need to if we climbed above so we opted for the Old Crater Variation. This seemed like it was the route almost everyone was using so we just got in line and followed everyone up to the summit.

 

The snow conditions were pretty good with just a little loose ice on top of crusty snow. The climbing was relatively easy up the chute, at least for me. We topped out at 6:15 AM and the view was great. Due to the wind and lack of movement we only hung out for a couple of minutes. We headed back down the way we came and downclimbing was no more difficult than the climb up. I unfortunately had to do a little puke and rally above the Hot Rocks and battled the upset stomach all the way down to Timberline.

 

Overall it was a great climb and I was surprised how much altitude effected me on this occasion. Must have been the lack of sleep, maybe some dehydration, or combination of those. It is now a couple days later and I have most feeling back in my toes from the pounding they took on the descent. Thanks to all those who have posted trip reports and condition reports before me, those are a great resource for us first timers on Mt. Hood.

 

[Holk]

Congrats to a summit on your first attempt!

 

Altitude sickness can be attributed to many things, including personal physique, but I guarantee you the sleep deprivation and dehydration were huge factors in your illness.

 

Sometimes all it takes is a 10-20 minute break to catch your breath, rehydrate and get some food in you, even if you aren't hungry or thirsty. If that doesn't help or your progress places you in danger of deteriorating conditions then you had better re-asses your goals for the day.

 

Personally I've climbed few mountains on any sort of night's rest or without having a full workload the day prior, usually both.

[dinomyte]

My congrats as well. I'm sure I saw you. I was on top a bit before 5am and probably passed you on the way down.

 

I learn something every time I climb Hood. This time I learned that to avoid the crowds, you just have to pass everyone on the way up!

 

Then, you can just say howdy to the 20 roped teams of 12 on your way down to enjoy the beer at you car!

 

I agree with Holk though. I got a whopping two hours of sleep!

[invinciblejj]

Good to hear I am not the only one going without any sleep. Altitude has been hit and miss with me up until now. I have done Adams twice and the South Sister. I guess it was just more of a hit than miss this time. Other than my stomach, my legs and strength were great. Thanks for the kind comments.

[LonelySummit]

Not that it's needed much around here; but Diamox 25o's are a hit. You can ask your Doc to give you 10 or so for a year of trips. Do a little research, then ask for them.