Hey there, blog world, it’s Andy. Normally my wife writes our blogs, but since I summited Mt Hood solo, this blog post was up to me. Allison didn’t climb with me on this one because the gear required was too extensive and costly for us to gather prior to the climb. Don refused to come because he didn’t want to get blown off the top of the mountain.
Mount Hood is what’s called a “stratovolcano” in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It’s about 50 miles east-southeast of Portland. At 11,249 feet tall, Mt. Hood is the highest peak in the state of Oregon, fourth highest in the Cascade Range and the thirteenth highest in the country. Mt. Hood alone has twelve named glaciers and snowfields including Palmer Glacier and Eliot Glacier.
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| There she is! |
What Allison and I found most interesting is the rapidity of the peak’s weather changes. Our hotel room had a perfect view of the mountain; you could sit there, look out the window, and watch it change from cloudy, to overcast, to rainy, to perfectly clear, in just a matter of moments.
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| One minute she’s gone… |
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| Almost there… |
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| We found her! |
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| They were getting confused. |
My first piece of advice to anyone interested in climbing Mt. Hood or getting into mountaineering in general is get the right gear. Gear means everything! It is worth the money to purchase the safest, warmest, and top of the line gear and equipment. It can literally mean the difference between life and death when you’re on the mountain. A lot of my gear is from The North Face Summit Series; they have a great line of mountaineering equipment, clothes, gear, and packs. Here’s the specific equipment and clothing I have:
We’ll start with my pack. I have The North Face Summit Series Prophet 45 pack. It’s an excellent technical pack for mountaineering and ice climbing and has plenty of room for all of your gear and necessities including convenient gear loops and ice axe loops. It has a very accessible crampon pocket as well. Find it here.
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| The North Face Summit Series Prophet 45 pack. |
My helmet is the Black Diamond Half Dome Helmet. Find it here. Depending upon the type of climb and the time of the climb, I equip my helmet with a Black Diamond Icon-Polar Headlamp. Find it here.
I always carry Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork trekking poles. Trekking poles are normally a matter of preference, but they make a huge difference to your knees on the descents. They are also particularly useful when traversing steep hills at an angle, especially if you are hiking on snow, ice, or slippery gravel. Find my Black Diamond trekking poles here.
Your boots are the most critical. I have La Sportive Spantik Lightweight double boot. They’re the gold standard in cold-weather mountaineering and I would highly recommend them. They’re perfect for peaks like Denali and Aconcagua. You’ll notice they are very costly – almost $800 with shipping. But, trust me. It’s worth every penny. Your feet need to function; they are your greatest asset.
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| Complete with icy hot for those muscles |
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| I also swear by REI wool socks. Find them here. |
Over my boots I put on what are called “gaiters.” I use Outdoor Research Expedition Crocodiles.
For most climbing expeditions that involve snow and ice, I carry crampons with me. I use Black Diamond Sabertooth Crampons.
I have three layers of pants. The bottom layer is mid-weight long underwear (find all Patagonia long underwear here). The middle layer is a Mammut Courmayeur Advanced soft shell pant. The outer layer is a Black Diamond front-point hard shell pant. You only wear the hard shell pant if it’s raining; for Mt. Hood I wore just my long underwear and the middle Courmayeur Advanced soft shell pant.
My upper layers consist of an REI lycra undershirt, Mammut Ultimate Alpine Hoody soft shell jacket, a Patagonia R1 Fleece Hoody, and the Patagonia Leashless Jacket with a helmet-compatible hood.
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| Patagonia R1 Fleece Hoody |
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| Mammut Ultimate Alpine Hoody soft shell |
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| Patagonia Leashless Jacket |
I also equip myself with a North Face beanie and three separate layers of gloves. The first layer of glove is a lightweight glove, called the Black Diamond Arc, which is complete with a waterproof insert. Second layer is a mediumweight glove called the Black Diamond Kingpin Glove. Third layer is a heavyweight waterproof glove called the Black Diamond Guide Glove.
In addition, I wear a North Face balaclava, a Patagonia baseball cap, and Julbo Explorer Glacier Sunglasses.
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| All suited up! |
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| All ready to go! |
I hired a guide group for my Mt. Hood climb, which I would highly recommend. Mt. Hood is only dangerous if you are foolish about your safety – in other words, just suck it up and hire a guide. I hired Timberline Mountain Guides, a long-standing and reputable guide company that started in 1983. It employs numerous talented and experienced guides, many of whom carry an American Mountain Guide Association certification. For Mt. Hood specifically, Timberline Mountain Guides offer numerous types of excursions; I selected the Summit Program, which takes you up the Southside Route of Mt. Hood. The Southside Route is considered an “entry-level technical climb.” While it is the safest route up Mt. Hood, it is by no means easy. It still requires a high degree of physical strength and ability and cannot be described as “non-technical,” which is often mistakenly is.
The Summit Program is designed for those with little to no previous mountaineering experience. While I did have mountaineering experience, I had never climbed Mt. Hood and I didn’t want to be foolish or over-presumptuous about what I could do. It was easier to be on the safe side. The Summit Program is technically two days – the first day we met our group and our guide. There were 7 climbers and 3 guides. We sorted all of our gear, did a check to make sure everyone had proper equipment, and went through logistics of the climb.
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| First day meeting with the group |
After our gear check, the guides took us on the Steep Snow Climbing Course, a short hike from the lodge designed to train us about climbing the mountain. We went over footwork, crampon and ice axe techniques, rope systems, and self-arrest.
Day 1 went well; I had appropriate gear and the climb seemed challenging, but doable. I got back to Timberline Lodge in the early afternoon and went to bed early. Our climb started the next day at 2am!
We met the next day at the Wy’East Day Lodge at 1:30 am. We did a final gear check and boarded the snowcat, which took us to the top of the ski resort where we began climbing. We started by ascending to an elevation of about 8,000 feet near the highest point of Palmer Glacier and hiked on from there for about two hours to the base of Crater Rock. Crater Rock is an ancient crater that sticks out from the South facing area of the mountain. We trudged past Crater Rock to reach the Devil’s Kitchen, a volcanic rock dome filled with suffer-heavy geothermal fumaroles. The smell was crazy; it was heavy and metallic, with steam rising up from the dome like a boiling pot of water.
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| Above the clouds! |
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| Fumaroles |
The next section was the most interesting. At this point you reach the top of the ridge which functions a lot like a traffic stop. Numerous people were poised on this ridge ready to make their way up a lengthy wall of ice towards the Pearly Gates. Some people were there with other guides and guide groups, others were there solo. Our group stopped at the ridge and roped up.
This part was also the scariest, not only for myself, but for my fellow climbers. At one point, off to the side of our roped-off group were two men climbing the mountain on their own (i.e., no guide). I couldn’t tell their climbing ability, but either way, at one point they ran into trouble. One of the men slipped and began sliding down the icy mountain straight for the fumaroles. His ice axe flew out of his hand and he began screaming for someone to help him. Of course we were all perilous to stop him from sliding. I watched him sliding and screaming; the situation scared me and I realized for the first moment how vulnerable we all were and how much we were testing not only our physical abilities, but our mental ones as well. Fortunately, the man was able to stop himself and dig his crampons into the ice. You could hear everyone else on the mountain let out a huge sigh. Even seeing someone almost perish was enough to cause my heart to beat through my chest. I had to force myself to re-focus.
At around 10,800 feet we hit what’s called Bergschrund, a large cravasse, which you pass on your left while climbing. Our footing at this point was critical. Each step was calculated and placed with deliberateness. One slight misstep at this point could cause you to slide into the cravasse. At around 10,900 feet we went through the “Chute,” which is essentially a mountain alleyway leading to the summit ridge.
We finally made it to the summit! The summit was as treacherous as it was beautiful. With a drop off to the side of thousands of feet, you had to be careful as you approached it. But, we made it with no problems or complications. It was breathtaking!
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| Made it! |
The descent happens later in the day, obviously, so we had to do what’s called “post-holing,” where each step basically consists of your foot sinking into the snow. It was exhausting and required a huge amount of energy, which was already in short supply after making it to the summit. Descending a mountain is also typically more dangerous than summiting due to fatigue – you are more likely to make rash and unthoughtful decisions when you’re tired. But, I finally made it down all in one piece!
I met my wife at the bottom, and we went to get a nice dinner together to celebrate my summit! Another high point checked off the list!
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| Made it down! |