Mount Hood Climb

“I guess the trip host has canceled the previously planned trip.

I still plan on climb the mountain this summer, so if you'd like to go monitor the trips page for more details.”

“I was looking for this thread yesterday to post about the rescue and fatality from the last few weeks. Both falls happened when they got hit by falling ice at the Pearly Gates. Didn't sound like they were roped up.

Anyway, me and a buddy are climbing this first week of May and then attempting Shasta. Interested in coming along?”

“Good luck on both climbs. You need good weather, good health, and good fitness, and it should be a cake walk. Without any of those three, forget it and stay home.



Mt. Hood: Lots of climbers above the Hogsback, heading up the gully. The snow was hard and crusty, with firm steps.




Mt. Hood: Looking down at the Hogsback, with the trail coming in from the left. Just at the base of the gully walls (Heaven's Gate)



Mt. Hood: Starting down from the summit, entering the gully (Heaven's Gate).



Mt. Shasta, using ice axe and crampons to climb up an ice chute.



Mt. Shasta, flat area near summit. 200' and 1/4 mile to go to summit.”

“Thanks for the pics! Hood is crazy - easy in good conditions, but will kill you in bad.

I'm looking forward to Shasta. I work with a guy who climbed it and accidently went down the wrong side. Stumbled around for 2 days before he got found.”

“I am currently reading the book about the Dec 2006 Hood Tragedy in which 3 climbers dies.. They only found one body, in a snow cave...

Can't relate to a lot of it as they were on the North Face, but its still a decent (and quick) read...

'32oz”

“There is are great lessons to learn from a climbing accident that happened on Hood in the mid 80s, where a private school group got overcome by bad weather. They built a snow cave in the storm, and about 8 of the group died in the cave. There is much more to it than that, but the lessons were:

don't climb when bad weather is predicted

set a turnaround time, and turn around at
that time

don't blindly follow the leader when you have strong doubts about the plan

if you place wands on the way up, follow them on the way down.

speed is a safety factor, excessive slowness is not

a big peak can be easy one day, super dangerous the next, so your experience last time doesn't count so much.”

“When I climbed Rainier in '07 the guides had a long list of things they thought the dead Texans on Hood did wrong. Started with being under-equiped for the conditions and ended with walking off a cliff in a white-out.”

“Stumbled around for 2 days before he got found.

Jeebus cripes, there's a road around the whole mountain, part of it an interstate!”

“Interested in coming along?

I have to see if I can get the time off. What days are you planning on?

What you're doing is pretty much what I had in mind too -- but via Cooper and then Casaval ridges.

December '06 I was told that the guides were no longer leading up through the gulch due to boulder (car size) fall / displacement. Maybe that's off now though.... have to confirm it.”

“My buddy is flying into San Jose May 2 and we're driving up to Hood first, then Shasta and Lassen on the way back down. He's flying out of San Jose May 10.

The rock & ice fall is sporadic. Recently there were perfect climbing conditions for about a week and then large chunks of ice started falling.”

“Two big accidents last week; 2 injured, one fatality”