[pct-l] MT Hood and North - LOCAL????

[goforth at cnw.com (Joanne Lennox)]

Mt Hood on July 10th can be a very different mountain in August.

I have climbed Hood before and you may or may not need campons, may or may
not need a rope.  Above Timberline Lodge there is a long,  gradual easy
ascent to about 500 feet of the summit - and then it gets quite steep, can
be icey and can have cracks and moats to fall into.  You absolutely have to
have an ice ax and know how to use it.

It depends on your skill, experience , snow and weather conditions.  It is
generally a very straight forward route, but experienced people have also
died on the route.

I would never reccommend that somebody do their first big climb of a
glaciated peak solo, and with out a rope, good equipment and an experienced
person.  It has been done, but if problems come up, then the results can be
tragic.  Walking the PCT does not necessarily help you deal with these
problems, it just means that you will be in better shape.

Goforth



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "dude" <dude@fastmail.ca>
To: <trackus@teleport.com>
Cc: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 1:02 PM
Subject: RE: [pct-l] MT Hood and North - LOCAL????


> Although I would agree entirely that Mt Hood is a mountain that
> deserves and requires enormous respect and good mountaineering skills,
> I would not say that rope is essential, or at least it would not
> *require* roping up with a team (you may want to carry rope as a
> precaution).
>
> I was just skiing on Mt. Hood on July 10th (one week ago), and there
> were hundreds of climbers making the ascent to the summit.  I stopped
> and spoke with some of them at Timberline Lodge for a few minutes.
> None of them roped up, but they all wore crampons (and obviously
> carried an ice axe).
>
> There is a sign in the parking lot of Timberline lodge that directs
> climbers to a trail that starts the climb.  Once you hit about 8000'
> you will be on snow and then glacier firther up the hill.  Although
> there is not a "trail", per se, I cannot immagine that there would not
> be a very pronounced rut in the snow where the hundreds of climbers
> trek up the hill single file.  I have not actually summited Mt. Hood,
> but I saw the line of climbers from the top of the chair lifts and
> cannot see how this could not be the case.
>
> I did also learn from discussing with the climbers at Timberline Lodge
> that there is a significant bergschrund that takes some mountaineering
> skills to negotiate, but they didnt use any ropes and instead just
> hiked around to the edge where there was a snow bridge.
>
> I would certainly not count out an August climb of Hood.  I think its
> entirely possible if you have good mountaineering skills and know what
> you are doing in the mountains.  Although I have not been on the summit
> of Hood, I have been on many other mountains, including the highest
> Volcano in North America, El Pico de Orizaba in Mexico (18,800').  I
> have also been on Shasta in september and consider that to
> be "climbable", but more difficult than earlier in the summer.  Based
> on my experience with mountaineering, I'd say that Hood is entirely
> climbable in August, though certainly may not be optimal.
>
> However, I would like to add that Mt Hood is not to be taken lightly.
> A few people die on Mt Hood each year, and I am sure that you remember
> the disaster 1.5 years ago when the helicopter crashed trying to save
> climbers who had fallen into a crevasse.  You must know what you are
> doing in the mountains to attempt this.
>
> peace,
> dude
>
>
>
> > Duane -
> >
> > August-September would be a very undesirable time to consider a "hike"
> > to the summit of Mt. Hood from Timberline Lodge. Snow and rock
> > conditions will be very hostile. Optimum timing is in May. There is no
> > "trail" to the top, and this is not a walk to attempt without solid
> > mountaineering skills. For sure, under best conditions, crampons and
> > rope would be essential safety accessories. There are many very scenic
> > trails in the area at lower elevation. If you have enough time,
> > consider the "around Mt. Hood trail" which you can access at
> > Timberline Lodge (6000 feet elevation). It is 41 miles and 10,000 feet
> > of elevation gain and loss to see the whole mountain - by no means a
> > cakewalk, but worth the effort for very good scenery.
> >
> > Mark
> >
> >
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