Mount Hood

I joined Timberline Mountain Guides on June 7th for a climb of Mount Hood in Oregon.  The climb began at midnight, with a ride in a snowcat up the ski slopes above Timberline Lodge to 8500'.  We then attached crampons and began the long slog to the volcanic crater of Mount Hood.  The weather steadily deteriorated as we ascended the southern slope of the mountain.  Thick clouds hugged the area, with wind driven snow/sleet becoming heavier with time.  As we entered the crater, we were greeted by a strong smell of sulfur...it felt like I was in another world, and was a bit unnerving.  At a point called Hot Rocks (where volcanic gas was visibly observed seeping out of the lava dome), we stashed our treking poles, broke out the ice axe, and tied in to our climbing ropes.  We then began ascending up the 800' tall crater, which was a 50 degree slope composed of hard packed snow.  We eventually reached a icy/snow encrusted gully, and ascended this part by front pointing on our crampons and using the ice axe pick for additional leverage...similar to ice climbing.  We then reached the crater rim, and after a five minute walk, obtained the summit of Mount Hood.

The brunt of the storm reached us as we stood atop the summit, with winds easily above 40 mph...given the sleet/snow, any exposed flesh was constantly being stun.  We only spent a couple of minutes at the summit...there was obviously no view from the top due to the thick cloud cover.  During the descent of the snow gully, I was belayed by the guide, which saved time and avoided any downclimbing mishaps.  Back at Hot Rocks, we leashed the ice axe, put away the climbing harness, and spent the next 2-3 hours treking back down to Timberline Lodge.