Advice on Hood

[ben1600]

Hi Everybody,

I'm fairly new mountaineering, having climbed a few non-technical peaks including Shasta, Adams a few times, and some winter climbs of some of the I-90 corridor peaks. I am looking for a way to step into the technical arena and am looking on advice for where to start? I am planning a trip to hood next week. Advice?

 

Thanks so much,

Ben

[Water]

did you do shasta and adams when they were melted out and just all on rock then or did you have experience using crampons and ice axe? because if you feel you have those skills down sufficiently that is really all you need for the southside of hood, to feel secure (enough) using those items on a slightly steeper slope. If you have no experience with those tools then you should acquire them and find somewhere without consequence to practice using them.

[DPS]

The South Side route is a logical next step to Shasta and Adams. The route is straight forward, I think most folks are climbing up left of the Pearly Gates these days. Don't fall in the bergschrund. Ice axe and crampon skills are key. Don't climb up into a storm. Get an early start, midnight is fairly typical. Get up and down before the sun starts baking and rock and ice fall becomes an issue. Make sure you have the correct parking pass, the police actively ticket.

[ben1600]

Thanks guys. I've mostly done early season climbs and have fairly good snow skills with ice axe and crampons. Would you recommend roping up?

[Water]

i think you're good on parking now that sno-park season is over, not sure a NW forest pass is even needed.

 

also unmentioned is a helmet--fortunately that piece of gear requires little in the way of training but I'd generally recommend it from the hogsback up, or even just below crater rock if there are signs crater rock has dropped stuff off.

 

re: roping up: not unless you're placing protection (pickets) which anchor the rope to the slope. Otherwise imo it is useless, plus it slows you down, requires you to focus on shit other than your footwork and self belay, and exposes you to more risk.

 

here is the 'hard' part of climbing the southside--go as fast as you safely can. you go up from the hogsback, the thin line coming out from crater rock.

 

[christophbenells]

i would not rope up, and i would avoid a high traffic day.

 

some of the climbers up there are scarier than the ice plastered to the cliffs above you!

 

i once saw a team of three roped up but not belayed, with the two leading climbers short roped together, than climber #3 about 50m below them. if the top two slid down, #3 was going to get blasted off the mountain in a spectacular fashion! would a 100m fall give him enough time to cut ze rope?!!

Edited May 30, 2013 by christophbenells