Hood Conditions?

[mhux]

Anyone know from experience or speculation how hood is right now? I figure the snow from last week/weekend should be (semi)consolidated by now, at least the windward stuff should be sorta scraped clean, right? Thinking about a climb up there but don't want to wallow if its not consolidated yet...

thanks

[B Deleted_Beck]

www.NWAC.us is a good resource, but just a resource, not a Genie. I'm TRYING to get up tonight, but my clutch went out and I'm not sure if I'm gonna have 'er all put back together in time to go climb.

 

My noob opinion of current conditions: Mostly stable, some storm and wind slab hazard, so stay on windward slopes. Take no chances, and if climbing with a partner, cross questionable terrain one at a time. Shovels a must, probes and beacons not a bad idea. Start early, get down early, to avoid late morning softening snow.

 

Stay safe..

[cam yarder]

Take no chances, and if climbing with a partner, cross questionable terrain one at a time. Shovels a must, probes and beacons not a bad idea.

 

a shovel is worthless without a beacon, probe, and a strong working knowledge of how to use them.

[B Deleted_Beck]

Take no chances, and if climbing with a partner, cross questionable terrain one at a time. Shovels a must, probes and beacons not a bad idea.

 

a shovel is worthless without a beacon, probe, and a strong working knowledge of how to use them.

 

I have no desire to get into one of these classic CC STFUSN arguments, but I'm gonna have to disagree, even as a stupid noob. A shovel will be useless without the other two after a big avalanche and/or deep burial, but most avalanches, especially on the south side of Hood, are not big, and burials are generally partial/shallow and not far from the last known position. Also, avalanches aside, shovels should be considered mandatory for digging guys out of tree wells (if applicable), moats, and for digging snow-graves.

 

IF you're going to take the risk, without paid Avy training and/or beacon/probe, a shovel should still be considered mandatory.

 

And that's my final word on the topic. :-D

 

-Ben

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

Not a Hood regular in the least, but... with there being a ski resort with a run up to 8500 feet, and then some mellow terrain above that, where exactly does avy hazard typically kick in up there? I'd surmise it is around/above Crater rock, no?

 

The last two times I was up there there was recent snow up to 8500 and then it got pretty icy above that for a bit - not sure if that is the usual pattern and it would be cool to hear what locals state as the norm up there at various elevations above the Palmer.

[mhux]

Yeah considering the 'moderate' avy rating that gear is a must, as is staying on windward slopes. I'm headed up tonight so I'll let you guys know how it is.

Not a Hood regular in the least, but... with there being a ski resort with a run up to 8500 feet, and then some mellow terrain above that, where exactly does avy hazard typically kick in up there? I'd surmise it is around/above Crater rock, no?

 

The last two times I was up there there was recent snow up to 8500 and then it got pretty icy above that for a bit - not sure if that is the usual pattern and it would be cool to hear what locals state as the norm up there at various elevations above the Palmer.

On the south side I'd say above crater rock, as far as the other aspects of hood, wherever its steep enough to slide...all those (steep) headwalls and gullies would be death traps in the right (wrong) conditions. But I'm no expert, either

[B Deleted_Beck]

The inside of the western crater rim has a rep for avy, as does the upper field below the old chute, so I'm told by other local Hoodies. I'm always paranoid coming up the eastern side of the Hogsback, myself- that thing's always wind-loaded. I'm also a little leery of the short snow field between the top of the pearly/DKH couloirs and the summit plateau- would need to be a pervasive NE wind to wind-load that spot, but if it happened to be, it's struck me as a potentially hazardous spot.

[B Deleted_Beck]

Yeah considering the 'moderate' avy rating that gear is a must, as is staying on windward slopes. I'm headed up tonight so I'll let you guys know how it is.

 

Well I won't see you up there... my clutch is still broke. I'd ask somebody for a ride, but I'm all the way out in Saint Helens... generally about 100 miles round trip out of the way for most folks 'round here.

 

You soloing?

[mhux]

Nah got a friend who's also looking for some thursday night alpinism...soloing in anything but low avy terrain sketches me out! good luck with that clutch

[eldiente]

Bump. How's the snow looking up there? Wind blown or pow?

 

 

[mhux]

south side stuff is wind blown/sastrugi mixed with icy (breakable) rain crust, the higher up you go the better it gets. Skinning/skiing down was a bitch with the icy rain crust, but its great if you can find continuous sastrugi fingers either going up or down. Only made it to illumination saddle but I figure the windward sides just get better higher up...definitely not pow!

[B Deleted_Beck]

Really wish I'd gotten up last night... ended up doing a 12 mile hill run instead, so at least I get to feel like I climbed.

 

How was wind/temp? Forecast was showing -8 with WC at the summit.. brrr..

[YocumRidge]

How windy was up at I-rock?

[Water]

from http://www.nwac.us/weatherdata/timberlineupper/ it looks like the wind dropped to about nill for much of the southside after midnight once it swung around to be from the north, then it looks like maybe it started coming around from the east now that we have high pressure and some off-shore flow for a day or two.

 

would love to hear how that jives with anyone who went up

[Mtguide]

Yeah considering the 'moderate' avy rating that gear is a must, as is staying on windward slopes. I'm headed up tonight so I'll let you guys know how it is.

Not a Hood regular in the least, but... with there being a ski resort with a run up to 8500 feet, and then some mellow terrain above that, where exactly does avy hazard typically kick in up there? I'd surmise it is around/above Crater rock, no?

 

The last two times I was up there there was recent snow up to 8500 and then it got pretty icy above that for a bit - not sure if that is the usual pattern and it would be cool to hear what locals state as the norm up there at various elevations above the Palmer.

On the south side I'd say above crater rock, as far as the other aspects of hood, wherever its steep enough to slide...all those (steep) headwalls and gullies would be death traps in the right (wrong) conditions. But I'm no expert, either

 

Second that, except to add that BELOW Crater Rock can be hazardous depending on how close you are and time of day. If you're heading up to do one of the standard S.side routes you have to go right past it to the east.I've been pegged there a couple of times by small zingers even well before sunrise.Fortunately nothing serious, but it will wake you up. West Crater routes generally skirt further to the west of Crater Rock, but then are of course exposed to anything coming off the rim above. The last avalanche fatality on Hood, to my knowledge, was about 10 years ago in the West Crater, on a Mazamas climb that went ahead despite all warnings and indications of high or extreme avvy danger. Always check NWAC warnings on their website before heading up. With the changes in S.side terrain/slope angles above the Hogsback in recent years,(steeper up through Pearly Gates) this area has become somewhat more "interesting"; while steeper slopes might shed more readily during storms or warmups,reducing danger, they can also compromise your speed of ascent and keep you exposed to potential avvy/icefall hazard for a longer time. Super early alpine starts, timing to summit before sunrise, cold temps, conditioning and speed reduce (but do NOT eliminate)the danger.

[mhux]

I-rock was pretty windy, maybe 10-15 constant with 20 gusts? At timberline it was 14 degrees at 12:30am, probably sub 10 (especially with windchill) up higher...almost better to keep moving than take breaks!

Also a note on avy, the left side of the bowl above crater rock had a good sized crown going on, I forgot to take a picture or I'd share the photo beta- almost from the left side of the bowl to the right, and potentially a higher up crown too (that triggered the main slide?) Go up and see for yourself, I guess...

[Teh Phuzzy]

[img:center]http://www.blainefranger.com/blog/uploaded_images/05_mthood_trilliumlake_MG_3704.jpg'>http://www.blainefranger.com/blog/uploaded_images/05_mthood_trilliumlake_MG_3704.jpg[/img]

 

Thought this was a good pic of what the south side looks like in winter; on the rarest of clear daze.

 

The lodge is the bright dot towards the bottom [you can follow the lifts to Silcox]

 

Citations:

 

http://www.blainefranger.com/blog/uploaded_images/05_mthood_trilliumlake_MG_3704.jpg

[Water]

in the above pic the bright dot towards the bottom is the top of the magic mile lift/start of the lift that goes to the top of palmer. I believe. just across a shallow gully to the right (East) is silcox hut. silcox is not where the top lift appears to terminate, thats just the top of the palmer lift.

[Teh Phuzzy]

in the above pic the bright dot towards the bottom is the top of the magic mile lift/start of the lift that goes to the top of palmer. I believe. just across a shallow gully to the right (East) is silcox hut. silcox is not where the top lift appears to terminate, thats just the top of the palmer lift.

 

Thats what I wish to had the knowledge to say

[sobo]

in the above pic the bright dot towards the bottom is the top of the magic mile lift/start of the lift that goes to the top of palmer. I believe. just across a shallow gully to the right (East) is silcox hut. silcox is not where the top lift appears to terminate, thats just the top of the palmer lift.

 

Thats what I wish to had the knowledge to say

Water is right.

[Major Major]

Always bring a shovel in cold weather in case you need to quickly dig a snow cave.

[eldiente]

We gave it a try early AM today and got shut-down. Clear and windy at the parking lot (2:30AM) but by the time we got to the top of Palmer it was fog and more wind. Nasty! Skiing conditions were poor, mostly wind buffed hard pack with a few spots of softer snow and bits of rain crust.

[B Deleted_Beck]

We gave it a try early AM today and got shut-down. Clear and windy at the parking lot (2:30AM) but by the time we got to the top of Palmer it was fog and more wind. Nasty! Skiing conditions were poor, mostly wind buffed hard pack with a few spots of softer snow and bits of rain crust.

 

Driving in to work this morning, it looked like it'd been neatly wrapped in a nice thick blanket of cloud, and I wondered if any brave souls were fighting up hoping to climb through- the clouds went all the way up.

[Holk]

My buddy Ean and I had a planned outing up the Spur Friday night, but decided last minute it wasn't safe to go. Instead we slept.

 

Saturday we decided to make good on a free day and figured we would play around at lower elevations. However, we mostly just stood around staring at the storm developments.

 

[Nipsy]

We gave it a try early AM today and got shut-down. Clear and windy at the parking lot (2:30AM) but by the time we got to the top of Palmer it was fog and more wind. Nasty! Skiing conditions were poor, mostly wind buffed hard pack with a few spots of softer snow and bits of rain crust.

Eldiente, were you the ones that stole the first tracks on the groomers before daylight? If so, our trip ended much the same. The weather was horrid from lower Palmer up yesterday. Gnarly wind that blew me over several times and with the moderate avy risk was not worth continuing. We headed down and worked on our rope skills down low. Snow was blown powder in the lee areas and ice and sastrugi elsewhere.