Mount Hood winter time please help?!

[ducks2013]

Heys guys first post on this forum and, im looking to climb hood always have wanted too, and im thinking about climbing it in the winter for my winter break, i hear that its not the best idea... any tips

thanks for your input.

[Alex]

If you get a good weather window, eg 12-24 hours with clear skies and nothing in the forecast, no forecast storms, its a real treat. The weather will be your primary challenge. The S Side / Hogsback route is very doable winter-time climb.

[B Deleted_Beck]

Hood is really in her prime in the winter.. watch avy conditions and watch for a weather window, like Alex says, and you're gold. I'd definitely recommend going up with somebody who's got some winter climbing experience, though... so any unexpected weather that does roll in doesn't result in a giant ducks2013-flavored Otterpop.

[montypiton]

Having climbed Hood numerous times, by numerous routes, in winter, I heartily concur with Alex and Ben B that its a wonderful time. If you're a competent skier, you can ski all the way to the crater on the south side routes, carry your skis to the summit, and be back at Timberline within minutes.

 

One caution: I would strongly advise carrying and using a handheld GPS on any climb of Hood. The uniformity of slope on all sides of this mountain makes following a compass bearing anywhere from difficult to impossible in poor visibility (whiteout), even for "expert" orienteers. Hood's history includes episodes where guides/instructors familiar with the mountain, and their route, have had clients die when lost in multi-day whiteouts. Skilled use of modern GPS technology greatly reduces this hazard.

 

That said, Hood is great fun in pretty much any season, given appropriate conditions. Good judgment is the product of long experience. Long experience includes surviving episodes of misjudgment.

 

"Adventure is just another word for trouble..." - Louis L'Amour

 

 

[luvshaker]

Yes, carry a GPS on Hood and be skilled at use. Be even BETTER at the use of map and compass. People found their way off the mountain in storms for a hundred years before GPS. Electronic devices can quit working, batteries die, and the military controls the satalites. Enough said.