Shane R. wrote:Hi folks,

My partners and I have plans to climb Denali this May. We have a scheduled training on Mt hood from January 2-9. These dates are pretty much set in stone because of participants plane tickets, requested time off work, etc.

I have never been to Mt Hood nor am I familiar with the routes much (yet) so I'm looking for some input. We had originally planned to spend a week on Mt Hood, pulling sleds to a base camp somewhere near the Sandy Headwall. This is where I need some advice. Is traveling with the sleds from the lodge to the base of the Sandy Headwall feasible? I have heard it's a long haul without the sleds and there two major ridges that must be crossed. What about setting up a base camp on either the Yoakum Ridge or Sandy Glacier? Our goal is to construct a bomb-proof camp complete with a cook tent from where we can head out for group activities each day, crevasse rescue, rope travel, avalanche training, summit attempt via the headwall, etc.

Is this route selection on Hood not a good idea for sled travel (in January)? Any better suggestions for routes/mountains in the Cascades for this type of thing? Thanks

Here is my 2 cents. Traveling to the base of the Sandy Headwall would be a lesson in sled managment. The crux of the Sandy Headwall is getting up and over the lower Yokum Ridge. When I did it it was steep, snow covered rock with the consistency of a loose pile of unmortared bricks. Frankly, it was kind of sketchy with out having to worry about sleds. Falling off of the lower Yokum onto the Sandy glacier would suck a whole lot.

I personally would not want to camp on the Sandy glacier. If/when the weather turns bad it makes retreat just that much harder. It is a glacier so you need to find a level spot free of crevasses far enough away from the Sandy Headwall so you are out of the runout zone of potential avalanches.

If it were me I would pull sleds to the Illumination Saddle and set up camp there. It will be much safer in regards to avalanches, there are no crevasses to worry about, and puts you in position for a quick retreat if necessary and in good proximity to the bergscrund on the south side for crevasses rescue practice, and good slopes for anchors, self arrest, avalanche pit digging and will make a day trip up the Sandy Headwall and down the South Side route right back to camp feasible if the snow/avalanche/weather conditions allow.

As far as Hood, I agree getting sleds around Yokum Ridge would be really dicey. Illumination saddle is a good spot and gives access to a number of routes (south side, West Crater Rim, Reid headwall, Leuthold Couloir, Sandy headwall), and while you're somewhat away from the ski area, not truly a wilderness setting (maybe not a big deal). Another alternative would be the Snow Dome/Sunshine route area on the north side, which also would give access to the north side routes if that was part of what you were into.

As far as other areas, Shasta is another good option but being from Redding you're probably familiar with that.

(P.S. I'm in Portland if you need sleds to practice with - have three kids sleds that have been set up for Denali practice before!)

I agree with others, that crossing two rocky ridges on Mt. Hood ain't going to be easy on any sleds.

I'm no pro... but why not do Mt. Adams instead?

The 10-mile road from highway to Cold creek campground is most likely closed by snow. Pulling a sled over the snowed-up roads will give you a 10-mile approach practice.

Then, from the campground... a 4-mile 5,800ft to 9,400 ft hike/climb over snowed paths and mini-glacier will give you experience abandoning your sleds and going for a higher campground.

Then you can summit the next day, or simply climb to higher camp at 10,600 ft. There are ceavasses on east side of Piker's peak where you can practice.

If weather is nice, you might try camping on the summit. Then return to lower camp, pack up and get back to your sleds.

Finally, on last day, pulling your sleds 10 miles back to your car.

This is snowshoe weather... and be prepared with extra food if a biazzard sets in. Three people died on this route when a very severe snowstorm set in quite unexpectedly. They found the bodies in their tents five years later.

Bill

Vitaliy M wrote:

twoshuzz wrote:I'd seriously recommend making a plan B, plan C and so on. If we continue with the same recent weather patterns, avi danger will be through the roof. Adams S. Spur is a good choice. Any of the Three Sisters in Central Oregon as well as Broken Top will offer good sled training with many climb/ski options. Keep up on weather and avi forecasts and keep your mind open to alternatives.

Exactly why I said January training in the cascades is not a great idea..

I don't know if it's exactly what you said. . .

I pulled a sled to Helen for practice. It worked well and I had the best stocked camp there! Tallac was good but a bit of a chore on the ridge. I did not find the sleds at all difficult on Denali but then again, we dropped them at 11.2

twoshuzz wrote:MLU- Mountain Locator Unit (Avi Beacon)

MLU (Mount Hood Locator Unit is not an Avalanche Beacon. They are two different things entirely.

A MLU is a device similar to a wildlife tracking transmitter. It only works when you turn it on and someone has notified SAR that someone is in need of rescue. No one monitors the signals from the MLU unit unless someone requests a rescue. Also from what i have heard, it is really only operational on the south side of the mountain.

An Avalanche Transceiver is a radio device that you wear all the time, and while turned on, constantly transmits a "ping". When someone is buried in an avalanche, you can switch the unit to "search" for the pings. It's used in conjunction with a probe to find the victim, and then you dig them out with your shovel.

Also to note, the range of the MLU compared to a Avy transceiver is significant. My DTS Tracker really can only transmit a few hundred feet where as the MLU can transmit for several miles.

Sorry to hijack, just wanted to make sure no one confuses the two items.

twoshuzz wrote:I'm aware of the diff, O.J. I was speaking in generic terms. My bad. Admittedly, I climb with neither. But that's a whole nother kettle of fish.

I figured you did, just did not want someone to get killed thinking that a MLU is a Avy beacon. There was actually a story from last year when SAR got called out several times during the winter time in Colorado for a distress call from a PLB.(The sat phone kind) They never found the guy until one day they got another call and this time they tracked it to a car in Boulder. Turns out the owner thought that it was an avy beacon, and would turn it on while BC skiing, and this time he simply forgot to turn it off. LOL. I guess he did not even know what it was he had.

I have never used a MLU myself either. I don't plan on starting anytime soon.

I borrowed this photo from here: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthr ... Post993214 and added annotations. This photo shows the terrain in question. Hopefully it will give some perspective on the terrain.

Vitaliy M wrote:Very nice photo. Those chutes above Reid glacier look sexy as well. Leuthold Coulior or steeper couloirs to the side...if possible would be nice to try some of those...
are those other steeper couloirs done often?

The photo is very nice, but I can't take credit for it. The chutes above the Reid are both popular routes. Above the Reid Glacier on the left close to Yocum Ridge is Luethold's Couloir, to the right is Reid Glacier Headwall. I have done both routes. Luethold's is easier, maxing out at about 45 degrees in the bottleneck while the Reid kicks back to 60 degrees and is fairly sustained. A couple of years ago a party of three young climbers fell off the Reid and died. Of the half dozen different routes I have done, Reid Glacier Headwall is my favorite.

Here is a trip report from a trip I did with our summitpost's own MVS, Aidan Haley (Colin Haley's cousin) and Chris, a strong Polish climber. You can see I rocked the long pony tail and viking beard back in the day. http://www.mountainwerks.org/cma/2002/leuthold.htm

Vitaliy M wrote:Light and fast lol, "Beyond the mountain" really damaged my mind =D

what do you mean by this here "damaged my mind=d"??

Someone asked about a guide to Mt Hood. There is one in the works but I don't know when it will be published. Here is a thread started by the author I believe. You will recognize the photo, it is the one I annotated and posted here: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthr ... Post993214

Vitaliy M wrote:Reid glacier Headwall would go through narrow bottleneck, widen up, than cut through another bottle neck and cut up and right to the normal south side route through obvious exit?

60 degree snow, ice, or mix? about how many vertical feet is the steep part? LOOKS NICE

It has been a long time since I did RGHW, can't remember the specifics, but there is some route latitude. When we did it we just followed the path of least resistance. It will be snow, maybe some ice. I can't remember how long the steep section is, maybe 1,000 ft??? We did it unroped so I don't have the number of pitches for reference.

Vitaliy M wrote:Reid glacier Headwall would go through narrow bottleneck, widen up, than cut through another bottle neck and cut up and right to the normal south side route through obvious exit?

60 degree snow, ice, or mix? about how many vertical feet is the steep part? LOOKS NICE

It has been a long time since I did RGHW, can't remember the specifics, but there is some route latitude. When we did it we just followed the path of least resistance. It will be snow, maybe some ice. I can't remember how long the steep section is, maybe 1,000 ft??? We did it unroped so I don't have the number of pitches for reference.

Here is a trip report from a guy I know. http://sverdina.com/hood/hood2.htm

Vitaliy M wrote:

dskoon wrote:

Vitaliy M wrote:Light and fast lol, "Beyond the mountain" really damaged my mind =D

what do you mean by this here "damaged my mind=d"??

Was referring to S. House's book. I am reading it now, and know Shane just read it too. By damage I meant made me more crazy. But I am just kidding, will be safe out there

Yeah, I read that one. . . dunno, found it kind of boring. Maybe my expectations were too high. Disappointing.

I borrowed this photo from here: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthr ... Post993421 depicting Illumination Rock and part of the saddle where one might find good camping opportunities.