[TR] Mt. Hood - Cooper Spur 4/15/2012

[dougd]

they open it when the road melts. . . depends on the weather/snow pack i do believe. mid-June in a good year? There are a few places on the road that are north-facing that thus hold the snow longer. On the flip side with the burn of a few years ago I imagine the sun gets on a majority of it a lot better.

 

 

Too bad those cheap ass'd Oregonians can't pony up with some more tax money so MHNF'd be able to get 'er plowed out early spring...

 

Must be a bunch of transplanted prop 13 californicators moved in over there...

 

d

 

 

[B Deleted_Beck]

Too bad those cheap ass'd Oregonians can't pony up with some more tax money so MHNF'd be able to get 'er plowed out early spring...

 

Must be a bunch of transplanted prop 13 californicators moved in over there...

 

d

 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the federal gov in charge of natl forests and access thereof?

[Water]

i think mr. doug was just being tongue-in-cheek

 

fwiw I can't even think of any dirt roads that get plowed in winter...and that is a dirt road if there ever was one.

 

on a side note cragrats still operate in winter and take snowmobiles or snowcats up to their lodge..hitch a ride or ride your own up!

 

saw one of those ATV gator things with a sled track on it doing S&R recovery for 2 lost snowshoers (found right as we left the TH). That thing moved pretty nice

[dougd]

i think mr. doug was just being tongue-in-cheek

 

on a side note cragrats still operate in winter and take snowmobiles or snowcats up to their lodge..hitch a ride or ride your own up!

 

Now, where's that "tongue-in-cheek" icon when you need it...

 

"Hitching a ride on a snowcat" would definitely be a subject for another forum. Suppose I deserved that after such a weak troll attempt. Guess I'll just have to hike the TJ Trail again. I can think of worse things to have to do...

 

Forecast is looking fine for this weekend.

 

 

[B Deleted_Beck]

That was actually an honest question

[astrov]

where's the reid headwall TR ben?

[dougd]

Cooper Spur conditions last Saturday weren't too bad all considered but got tricky once the sun hit the slopes. Experienced some small ice falling from above in chimney area on ascent early morning... It did not take long at all for surface snow/snice conditions to change, and massive snow balling in crampons was an issue on descent. Anywhere from 6" to 14" of pretty firm snow over ice crust lower on approach to route with snice above 9500ft made for good climbing EARLY.

 

So, how that translates to this week on the mountain? Go have a look see for yourself is always the best advice IMHO.

 

d

[justcallmegary]

Hey Man - Met you up there that day coming up from Steel Cliffs / W'yeast. Heading up CSpur this Saturday. Pretty straightforward? Any need for an extra tool? Looking to ski down from some point, maybe from the summit. Any beta would help. Thanks.

[Holk]

Have fun on that descent! I wish I could [better] ski. (Image taken July, 2011)

 

[dougd]

Hey Man - Met you up there that day coming up from Steel Cliffs / W'yeast. Heading up CSpur this Saturday. Pretty straightforward? Any need for an extra tool? Looking to ski down from some point, maybe from the summit. Any beta would help. Thanks.

 

My partner and I climbed Cooper Spur the 12th of May and found a second tool to be necessary. We started from an open bivy at tie in rock at 0300 and summited at 0730... I was glad to be off the spur as it was very warm that day up there. Thought that descending the old chute on the South side would be much safer than downclimbing the spur so we did that. Not sure how it would ski in current conditions, we don't ski...

 

Good luck, its a nice route, we really enjoyed the climbing.

 

d

Edited May 18, 2012 by dougd

[Water]

not sure if this was to me (OP) but we didn't find the 2nd tool absolutely necessary, but just nice, helpful to move a bit faster while maintaining security--the snow was soft so easy for self belay, we weren't on our frontpoints on hardpack, no need for high dagger hold on the axe--it was soft enough that a regular step could give a platform for half the foot+. But not not soft due to warmth, just snow condition. Only for 100ft at the top did it start to change consistency what felt like due to sun. having a 2nd isnt a bad thing if you've got it already, ensures you can use it if you need it.

 

can't give anything first hand on skiing the spur but i'd say you must be a very skilled skier to do it. mistakes will mean death. do a search, dan (h) the man did it last year or the year before.

[dougd]

We had 2 - 3 ft snow drifts, wind blown snow (pillows), to climb through for the first 500 ft or so of this route (pain in the ass) after leaving the ridge proper, then got into some good snice the rest of the way to the summit. It was pretty hard except for some brief sections of more windblown deposits of snow along the way.

 

There was approximately 2 feet of snow that had fallen on the mountain the week of the 1st I think it was.

 

I would surmise the second tool would be a matter of confidence, it's pretty steep ground toward the top...

 

d

Edited May 18, 2012 by dougd

[justcallmegary]

Thanks. I guess we'll just have to assess when we get up there. I'll let you know how it goes. I try to avoid mistakes..

[justcallmegary]

Made it up. We decided to stash our skis just below no-tie-in-rock, upper mt just looked gnarly. Later did we find out that we could've skied down from the chimney area. Oh well, just more vert to lug those planks up. The downclimb wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and the ski down was pretty nice. A great adventure nontheless.

[Holk]

Made it up. We decided to stash our skis ... A great adventure nontheless.

 

Hey Jason, glad you made it up and down safely and had at least some ski action in, well done!

[dougd]

[justcallmegary]

Thanks Holk. Great photos by the way.

[justcallmegary]

And thanks for recommending a 2nd tool, it was a nice security blanket.