goran Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Thinking of givin'er a go this weekend, but don't know Hood well enough to know what to expect. Has anybody taken a peek around Illumination Rock at the glacier / Leuthold Couloir / Reid Headwall? Any general thoughts about the SW aspect of Hood this time of year? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leora Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 The last time I did either of those was a month ago (11/27, Leuthold, 11/29, Reid), and except for the seemingly steeper than normal descent off of Illumination Saddle, both were in fine shape. (Leuthold characteristically easy, and Reid with just a few little icy steps.) Given what I saw in the SW facing couloir on Hood, I'm sort of expecting that those routes will be "in", but that you'll have the ice "barnacles" and gargoyles that I saw all over any west-facing slope on the south side. Those barnacles and gargoyles can cause instability in stepping, so take care, and then tell us how it went! leora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Beckerich Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Being the mountain's windshield, these routes generally come in early... If temps and conditions are favorable, Reid should be pretty much always "in" It can be a real hell of a bowling alley when it's shedding rime, though. Don't recommend going up during the first warmup after a storm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goran Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 "...hell of a bowling alley..." is what we experienced. 1 broken helmet, 2 lost ice screws, and 3 guys lucky to pass (mostly) unharmed: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1118853#Post1118853 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.