Mt. Hood Summit Attempt

My girlfriend booked a business trip to Portland and suggested that we spend the weekend together on the Columbia River. So, after realizing that I could get a shot at Mt. Hood, I agreed! Not to give anything away, but the photo to the right demonstrates my unique ability to attract storms at high altitude.

This was my favorite trip of the summer. I had never been to Mt. Hood (only heard stories) and wanted to experience it for myself. Of course, my plan was to summit. People tend to avoid Mt. Hood in the summer because of the danger of rock fall. So, I planned to take advantage of a cooler than average weather and an early start to make it.

Day 1: I arrived at Timberline Lodge and registered. Leaving my car in the overnight parking lot, I departed at 2:10pm for the Silcox Hut. From here I followed the ski runs up until visibility fell and I moved toward the ski lift towers. By 4:00, I topped out at the Panther Express chair lift and, finding no trail, moved upward straight along the line from the ski lift towers. Finally, at 9,153 ft., I found a good campsite. Here, I made dinner and was in my bivy sack by 6:30pm. The weather was cloudy, but other wise favorable at 38 degrees with calm winds.

Day 2: I slept so well that I took no notice of the storm that moved in overnight. I woke to find my bivy sack coated in thick ice. The cooler temps were expected but the precipitation in the form of driving ice was not! I changed into heavy weather gear (difficult in a bivy sack) and started hiking at 5:30am. The trail was clear and easy to follow (despite the low visibility) until about 10,000 ft. at which point it disappeared onto the glacier just above an area called Triangle Moraine. I put on my crampons and continued upward along the glacier. After about 200 ft of vertical, I noticed a single wand on a pile of rocks. This signal put me back on the trail towards Hogsback Ridge.

Hiking in near zero visibility and wind-driven rhime ice, I was excited to find this ridge, which I knew would lead directly to the summit. Unfortunately, at 10,700 ft, I encountered a giant bergschrund perfectly perpendicular to the Hogsback Ridge and approximately 300 yards wide. it was too wide and too deep to cross, so I traversed to climber's left until I passed the bergschrund and could turn straight up.

Here I stood on a 45 degree slope made of loose ash and small rocks, coated with mixed snow and ice, hardly the favorite situation for a climber to face. Wearing 12-point crampons and carrying an ice axe, I climbed on all fours for 300 ft. This chute is named either "Old Chute" or "Mazama Chute" (impossible to tell which one I was climbing given the lack of visibility). At 11,000 ft, the chute turned into rocks thickly coated with ice. It was too risky to continue. I abandoned the attempt and downclimbed until the bergschrund came into view.

Back on Hogsback Ridge, I rested and began the descent, which was relatively easy. The snow cushioned each step and the cooler weather prevented rockfall. I reached the parking lot by 1:00pm and found several climbers registering. The weather was improving, but I had already taken my shot. I'll save the summit for another day.