Signed up for Mt. Rainier Climb with IMG over the Memorial Day weekend, thinking about doing Mt. Hood before or after the Rainier climb, have a few questions:

- should I climb Mt. Hood before or after Rainier?
- I currently have no glacier travel experience but will learn on Mt. Rainier, is it still a good idea to also go with guides on Mt. Hood to be safe and re-learn the skills?

Thanks,
Alex

I have not climbed Rainier but I would think Mt. Hood would be a good warm up climb. I did it last year as my second trip out for the seasion and found it was a good start to the seasion. Have fun and be safe,

Mike.

What he says above^^^

Yes, many do Hood,(along with Adams), prior to attempting Rainier.

Before/after depends a bit on your time, and/or the weather.

Doing Hood w/ guides? Depends again. You say you will be learning glacier skills, etc, up on Rainier.
Do you already have experience with ice axe/self arrest, and crampons? If you do, and have been on any semi-steep snow
before, ie, 40-50 deg, than you could get by w/out going with guides on Hood. Basically depends on your experience
and comfort level on steeper snow. No glaciers to worry about on the normal S. side approach on Hood.

I did learn the basics on Hood w/ Timberline Mnt. Guides. We had a very good guide, and I was impressed
with their organization. And, if you don't already have the aforementioned skill set, then TMG would certainly
be a good way to go before showing up to Rainier.

Good luck.

thank you guys! any recommendation on an inexpensive motel/campsite for the Hood climb?

sm0421 wrote:thank you guys! any recommendation on an inexpensive motel/campsite for the Hood climb?

Well, the cleanest, most modern, and cheapest might be the Best Western. Not sure of prices.
Huckleberry Inn served me and a partner well one time; older, funkier, but worked fine.
And, there's also a hostel, called Mt. Hood hostel. Not sure of the quality, etc, but its prolly cheap.

You could also find a reasonable rate(specially if you're willing to walk down the hall for a bathroom), at the landmark Timberline lodge,
and walk right out the door to begin your climb. Best to book in advance on that one, though.

Many climbers sleep in their cars before the climb, and/or, depending on snow level then(prolly high), some bivy
under the trees at the S. end of the parking lot. Haven't done it myself, but, seems like not a bad way to go. Again,
that might entail laying a tarp down on the snow, or, perhaps finding a bare spot somewhere amongst the trees. .
All depends on your comfort level, what you wanna pay, how well you wanna sleep, etc.

Good luck.

If you check my profile. I stayed at some campsite way below snow line and left prior to midnight. it made for a good night sleeping with the temps in the 60's

The IMG Rainier program is great and I'm not sure it will make much difference one way or the other whether you do Hood before or after Rainier from any standpoint other than acclimization and conditioning. I am doing the 3-day Timberline program on Hood from May 31 to June 2 via the south side. 2 nights camping above the Palmer lifts. It will be my third time attempting Hood but the first attempt at the "right" time of year. If there are still openings left in the program, it would be cool to meet a fellow highpointer out there. Good luck.

As for lodging, I stayed at a nearby campground last year when I was out there. Haven't yet decided where I will stay this year.

Alex, get a guide for Mt. Hood. Depending on the conditions you could have to go a little off route and the ascent is steep. Also there is usually a lot of traffic on the mountain, so you would also be endangering the lives of those around you as well. As far as before or after Rainier, it doesn't matter since both will give you a training day on the mountain, just know that early in the season, one or both of those trips could potentially result in you not getting to the summit.

thanks guys, will go with guides prior to the Rainier climb!