Route Climbed: South Side, Hogsback Date Climbed: May 14, 2005
Slept in the back of the car in the Timberline parking lot while it poured all night. Seeing all of the wet, cold climbers coming back down reporting bad weather, we finally decided to skip the climb, and went for the all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast at the lodge. Midway through the second waffle (with all the toppings), the sun came out, so we headed up to do some skiing. The fog came back in, but somehow we ended up at the hogsback, getting short glimpses of the mountain from time to time. We carried our skis up, reached the top, and skied from the summit. Skiing the Pearly Gates in the fog was a bit scary, but the visibility improved and the rest of the descent was pure fun. Back to the car at 7pm - pizza and beer at 8.
May 7, 2005 via Wy’East – Steel Cliffs: Part of the Adv. Snow & Ice class. Bad weather at Timberline – clear above ~7K level. Met Haydar (hkutuk) at Tline. Other than the slog along Palmer, nice (quite beautiful actually) climb. Some short sections of sh*tty snow high up. First alpine climb of the season and we was draggin’ ass.
May 6, 2002 via South Side – West Crater Rim: Second ascent this season. Went up from Timberline lodge to top of Palmer at which point we climbed to the west side of the Crater Rock. Up some steep (well consolidated) snow to the top of the rim. The rim traverse to the true summit over a narrow ridge covered by a snow cornice was interesting. Descended via Hogsback. Windy all the way. The berg at Hogsback was open and about 1 foot wide. Good conditioning.
April 22, 2002 via South Side: Started at a very reasonable hour of 5:30am from Timberline. Conditions were excellent throughout the day. Snow got relatively worse above Crater Rock where a 1 foot layer of soft/wet snow concealed an icy layer underneath. Hogback was icy. The 'berg' was about 4 inches wide at this time. No roping up on the way up/down although did see multiple roped parties descending and sliding all over the place. Nice windless summit.
Mid-June, 2001 via South Side: Snow-cat fumes up to end of Palmer are enough to make one high as a kite - along with the snow grooming equipment they're a pain for the first part of the climb.
What was to be a provisional lead for me had 11 people signed up, but the weather at midnight turned 6 away and the remaining waited in the late hours of the night until we heard the word that the upper mountain was clear so went for it just before 4am. Perfect conditions all the way to the summit once through the low bad weather layer. Coming down one of our members broke through the snow bridge and fell into the schrund as we went into self arrest, he managed to prussik himself out unhurt. Turned out to be an exciting climb.
South Side (April 24, 2004)
Found the ideal way of climbing Hood, on skis during a nice sunny day. Skinned up to just below Hogsback. The snow was ideal for skinning. By the time we got to Hogsback it was midday and the sun was baking, had no water left, no helmet nor crampons but soft snow allowed climbing in heavy ski boots. Watched a skier trigger a slab avalanche on the WCR, luckyly he escaped it. The schrund is passable but one crack is opening on the left and another weird hole on the right. Never been on the summit at 1pm before. Skied all the way down and was glad didn't have to do the long walk on soft snow.
Sourh Side (March 13, 2004)
Climbed with Scott P. and Sue N. It was a clear and breezy night and despite the high freeze levels found the snow frozen from the start at 1am. The hogsback was steeper and icier than usual and there was quite a bit of ice funneling through the Pearly gates mostly beause of careless climbers coming down. We made good time and were greeted by the tens of climbers going up as we were coming down in the early hours of the morning. Topped the climb with some rock climbing at Horsethief Butte.
South Side (June 8, 2003)
After a month long army duty at home was not sure if still in climbing shape, but was a strong climb. Never saw so many sick people scattered lying on the snow. Shrund was wide open due to low snow year. Calm summit and stayed for long time under the early morning sun. Coming down on slushy snow and baking in the sun was just too long.
South Side (June 23, 2002)
Second climb in two weeks, don't have anything better to do on Saturday nights. Managed not to get sick this time and it was a much more pleasent experience. Amazed by watching the clouds filling the valleys and being on top of them and looking down to Hogsback from the gates. Descent from Crater rock is just too long, skiing is a must.
South Side (June 16, 2002)
Second attempt after being forced to turn around after the bergschrund few weeks ago. Yet again felt sick in the stomach, not a pleasent experience especially around Devil's Kitchen. My legs managed to carry me to the top even though the rest of my body didn't want to go. Glad to reach the summit finally.
Route Climbed: Leutholds Couloir Date Climbed: May 1st
We left Timberline at 10:30 AM on Saturday in the middle of a cloud. It looked as if our chances for summiting were slim to none. Many chose not to even go up that day. We intended to camp at Illumination Saddle that night and depart for the couloir at around 3 AM. Remarkably, as we neared the top of Palmer we broke through the clouds, and began to get glimpses of the upper portions of the peak. Soon after though, a more menacing band of clouds approached with definite precip on the way. We decided to set up camp just above Palmer before making the traverse over to the saddle. As it turned out the weather stayed decent until around 8 that night, when the sleet and snow returned. I was lulled to sleep by the pattering of the sleet and snow on the tent. At this point I thought we'd be lucky just to salvage a south side attempt, but lo and behold, when we awoke at 3:30 Sunday morning, the sky was clear, except for a cloud cap on the summit. Leutholds was a go. The earlier snowfall and subsequent freeze had left the route in excellent condition. The Reid glacier was completely bridged still, the hourglass was spotty in places, but our crampons were able to get good purchase throughout. The hourglass has been carved out by a deep runnel; we had to sort of pinch ourselves up and through between the rock wall and a band of ice and snow. Once to the Queens Chair we were unbelievably once again inside a ping-pong ball...visibility was zilch. We crossed the summit ridge in a thick cloud, unable to see the precarious drops on both sides of us -perhaps for the best. We set up a couple pickets along the way. After a short stay on the summit (we were alone), we began a slow, laborious descent down the pearly gates and hogsback in virtually zero visibility conditions. As we were not certain where the bergshrund was, and the route condition was still an unknown, we set a few ice screws in the gates and pickets down the hogsback. A few years ago these conditions would of panicked me, but it's pretty hard to get lost between the summit and Crater rock; plus we had GPS to back us up. All in all it was thrilling, adventurous climb. I wish I would of used more sunscreen though....man did I underestimate those UVs!
Route Climbed: South Side (Hogsback) Date Climbed: April 29, 2005
White-out conditions, and blowing ice the whole time. We made it to the bergshund, having difficulty finding the right edge of the bergshund and not wanting to risk it we turned back.
Route Climbed: South Hogsback Date Climbed: 14 Jun 2000
Left from Timberline Lodge at midnight, full moon, never used my headlamp, was on the summit at 0940. I know that's slow...but so am I! Shared the summit with a wedding party toasting the B&G with the bubbly. Great weather up and down.
Route Climbed: S. Side-Hogsback Date Climbed: March 6, 2005
Climbed with Andre, Marta and Carolyn. After tagging and turning with Andre on our summit 2 years ago due to weather, we were rewarded with stunning vistas of the Cascade volcanoes from Rainier south.
Route Climbed: South Side-Hogsback Date Climbed: June 30, 2002
Climbed with Andre right after NTSB opened mountain after completing helicopter rescue crash investigation. Chopper dispatched to rescue/retrieve injured and dead in fall above shrund. Icy above the shrund on our climb. Weather deteriorated and tagged and turned at the summit.
Route Climbed: Hogsback Date Climbed: April 9, 2005
What an awesome climb! We broke through the cloud layer at 8,000' just as the sun was rising. The ice formations around the crater were truly spectacular to see with fresh snow and clear blue skies.
Route Climbed: south side Date Climbed: 03-12-2005
left around 4:30am from the lodge. nice weather up with some wind. quite a few parties climbing that day. the crevasse is almost completely open now. actually went left of the gates through a small chute due to all of the teams going up and down at the same time. lots of ice fall. summited about 8:30am. great weather on the top. overall a great day.
Route Climbed: South Side/Hogsback Date Climbed: March 7, 2005
I read a recent summit log posted by Noah (Oregon) about the conditions on Mt. Hood. I decided to climb it while I still had the chance (on snow). I left this morning at 2:15am and the temperature was about 40 degrees (f). The snow was soft for most of the route. When I reached the Hogsback, the sun was just starting to shine on it and the Pearly Gates. As I approached the Pearly Gates, I felt like a pin at the business end of a bowling lane. There were many soft-ball sized chunks of Ice the p-gates were throwing directly at me. When I saw the bowling ball sized chunk of ice heading diretly toward me at the base of the Pearly Gates, I had to drop and protect myself with my pack. Since I forgot my helmet, I decided to head down, and the day was just getting warmed up. The snow bridge is still good direclty on the ridge of the hogsback. Not so good a few feet down either side..
Route Climbed: South side/Hogsback Date Climbed: February 26, 2005
Started at 2:10AM, topped out by 7:15 I think? No ropes, excellent weather, views, awesome people to keep me from killing myself. Will try this again someday.
Route Climbed: South Side Date Climbed: Feb. 26, 2005
This was my fifth time on the South Side and the first time I've done this route "alone," though we usually don't rope up anyway. I was solo but there were plenty of interesting folks to talk to going up (and down). It was nearly a full moon and it made the route beautiful and somewhat other-worldly. I didn't even mind the snowcats down on Palmer. Days like this one were made for climbing and nothing can steal the good vibe, heck, even the walk back down was nice. However, if you think you are going to walz over the Bergschrund in a month or two, you are crazy. The climbing season is now, not in May and June like the books tell you. It is going to be brutally devoid of snow up there this year, so if you want to climb Hood in '05, strike while the iron is hot, go now. If you want to go rock collecting, just wait a month or two.
Route Climbed: Hogsback Date Climbed: July/Aug 2000
Solo trip with my backpacking gear and pitched alpine camp on a ridgeline perch to the west of Crater Rock. My best campsite yet, watching the glow of Portland as the sun set. Heavy winds (50-70mph?) meant I slept through/didn't hear a helivac on the Hogsback Route the next morning. Apparently a rockfall had hit someone and broke their pelvis. Hogsback route was so frequently travelled that footprints had been pressed into the snow the entire way up the mountain.
jtschanz - May 16, 2005 2:01 pm
Route Climbed: South Side, Hogsback Date Climbed: May 14, 2005Slept in the back of the car in the Timberline parking lot while it poured all night. Seeing all of the wet, cold climbers coming back down reporting bad weather, we finally decided to skip the climb, and went for the all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast at the lodge. Midway through the second waffle (with all the toppings), the sun came out, so we headed up to do some skiing. The fog came back in, but somehow we ended up at the hogsback, getting short glimpses of the mountain from time to time. We carried our skis up, reached the top, and skied from the summit. Skiing the Pearly Gates in the fog was a bit scary, but the visibility improved and the rest of the descent was pure fun. Back to the car at 7pm - pizza and beer at 8.
rpc - May 10, 2005 2:13 pm
Route Climbed: Multiple Date Climbed: MultipleMay 7, 2005 via Wy’East – Steel Cliffs: Part of the Adv. Snow & Ice class. Bad weather at Timberline – clear above ~7K level. Met Haydar (hkutuk) at Tline. Other than the slog along Palmer, nice (quite beautiful actually) climb. Some short sections of sh*tty snow high up. First alpine climb of the season and we was draggin’ ass.
May 6, 2002 via South Side – West Crater Rim: Second ascent this season. Went up from Timberline lodge to top of Palmer at which point we climbed to the west side of the Crater Rock. Up some steep (well consolidated) snow to the top of the rim. The rim traverse to the true summit over a narrow ridge covered by a snow cornice was interesting. Descended via Hogsback. Windy all the way. The berg at Hogsback was open and about 1 foot wide. Good conditioning.
April 22, 2002 via South Side: Started at a very reasonable hour of 5:30am from Timberline. Conditions were excellent throughout the day. Snow got relatively worse above Crater Rock where a 1 foot layer of soft/wet snow concealed an icy layer underneath. Hogback was icy. The 'berg' was about 4 inches wide at this time. No roping up on the way up/down although did see multiple roped parties descending and sliding all over the place. Nice windless summit.
Mid-June, 2001 via South Side: Snow-cat fumes up to end of Palmer are enough to make one high as a kite - along with the snow grooming equipment they're a pain for the first part of the climb.
Beautiful sunrise though.
hkutuk - May 10, 2005 12:27 pm
Route Climbed: South Side Date Climbed: MultipleSouth Side (May 7, 2005)
What was to be a provisional lead for me had 11 people signed up, but the weather at midnight turned 6 away and the remaining waited in the late hours of the night until we heard the word that the upper mountain was clear so went for it just before 4am. Perfect conditions all the way to the summit once through the low bad weather layer. Coming down one of our members broke through the snow bridge and fell into the schrund as we went into self arrest, he managed to prussik himself out unhurt. Turned out to be an exciting climb.
South Side (April 24, 2004)
Found the ideal way of climbing Hood, on skis during a nice sunny day. Skinned up to just below Hogsback. The snow was ideal for skinning. By the time we got to Hogsback it was midday and the sun was baking, had no water left, no helmet nor crampons but soft snow allowed climbing in heavy ski boots. Watched a skier trigger a slab avalanche on the WCR, luckyly he escaped it. The schrund is passable but one crack is opening on the left and another weird hole on the right. Never been on the summit at 1pm before. Skied all the way down and was glad didn't have to do the long walk on soft snow.
Sourh Side (March 13, 2004)
Climbed with Scott P. and Sue N. It was a clear and breezy night and despite the high freeze levels found the snow frozen from the start at 1am. The hogsback was steeper and icier than usual and there was quite a bit of ice funneling through the Pearly gates mostly beause of careless climbers coming down. We made good time and were greeted by the tens of climbers going up as we were coming down in the early hours of the morning. Topped the climb with some rock climbing at Horsethief Butte.
South Side (June 8, 2003)
After a month long army duty at home was not sure if still in climbing shape, but was a strong climb. Never saw so many sick people scattered lying on the snow. Shrund was wide open due to low snow year. Calm summit and stayed for long time under the early morning sun. Coming down on slushy snow and baking in the sun was just too long.
South Side (June 23, 2002)
Second climb in two weeks, don't have anything better to do on Saturday nights. Managed not to get sick this time and it was a much more pleasent experience. Amazed by watching the clouds filling the valleys and being on top of them and looking down to Hogsback from the gates. Descent from Crater rock is just too long, skiing is a must.
South Side (June 16, 2002)
Second attempt after being forced to turn around after the bergschrund few weeks ago. Yet again felt sick in the stomach, not a pleasent experience especially around Devil's Kitchen. My legs managed to carry me to the top even though the rest of my body didn't want to go. Glad to reach the summit finally.
SE pdx climber - May 4, 2005 6:39 pm
Route Climbed: Leutholds Couloir Date Climbed: May 1stWe left Timberline at 10:30 AM on Saturday in the middle of a cloud. It looked as if our chances for summiting were slim to none. Many chose not to even go up that day. We intended to camp at Illumination Saddle that night and depart for the couloir at around 3 AM. Remarkably, as we neared the top of Palmer we broke through the clouds, and began to get glimpses of the upper portions of the peak. Soon after though, a more menacing band of clouds approached with definite precip on the way. We decided to set up camp just above Palmer before making the traverse over to the saddle. As it turned out the weather stayed decent until around 8 that night, when the sleet and snow returned. I was lulled to sleep by the pattering of the sleet and snow on the tent. At this point I thought we'd be lucky just to salvage a south side attempt, but lo and behold, when we awoke at 3:30 Sunday morning, the sky was clear, except for a cloud cap on the summit. Leutholds was a go. The earlier snowfall and subsequent freeze had left the route in excellent condition. The Reid glacier was completely bridged still, the hourglass was spotty in places, but our crampons were able to get good purchase throughout. The hourglass has been carved out by a deep runnel; we had to sort of pinch ourselves up and through between the rock wall and a band of ice and snow. Once to the Queens Chair we were unbelievably once again inside a ping-pong ball...visibility was zilch. We crossed the summit ridge in a thick cloud, unable to see the precarious drops on both sides of us -perhaps for the best. We set up a couple pickets along the way. After a short stay on the summit (we were alone), we began a slow, laborious descent down the pearly gates and hogsback in virtually zero visibility conditions. As we were not certain where the bergshrund was, and the route condition was still an unknown, we set a few ice screws in the gates and pickets down the hogsback. A few years ago these conditions would of panicked me, but it's pretty hard to get lost between the summit and Crater rock; plus we had GPS to back us up. All in all it was thrilling, adventurous climb. I wish I would of used more sunscreen though....man did I underestimate those UVs!
mntnrmichael - May 3, 2005 11:52 pm
Route Climbed: South Side (Hogsback) Date Climbed: April 29, 2005White-out conditions, and blowing ice the whole time. We made it to the bergshund, having difficulty finding the right edge of the bergshund and not wanting to risk it we turned back.
A great experience none the less.
roger3k - May 3, 2005 2:16 am
Route Climbed: South Date Climbed: April 28, 2004Delayed start for 2 hours due to white out, by the time we made the top of Palmer clear skies and had the WHOLE MOUNTAIN to ourselves.
wildstar - Apr 23, 2005 8:55 pm
Route Climbed: South Side Date Climbed: April 23, 2005We summited about sunrise with a lot of wind on the way up and it snowed all the way down so I didn't get good pictures on this trip. Maybe next time.
Still Truckin - Apr 19, 2005 4:05 pm
Route Climbed: South Hogsback Date Climbed: 14 Jun 2000Left from Timberline Lodge at midnight, full moon, never used my headlamp, was on the summit at 0940. I know that's slow...but so am I! Shared the summit with a wedding party toasting the B&G with the bubbly. Great weather up and down.
soslaw - Apr 18, 2005 2:31 pm
Route Climbed: S. Side-Hogsback Date Climbed: March 6, 2005Climbed with Andre, Marta and Carolyn. After tagging and turning with Andre on our summit 2 years ago due to weather, we were rewarded with stunning vistas of the Cascade volcanoes from Rainier south.
soslaw - Apr 18, 2005 1:33 pm
Route Climbed: South Side-Hogsback Date Climbed: June 30, 2002Climbed with Andre right after NTSB opened mountain after completing helicopter rescue crash investigation. Chopper dispatched to rescue/retrieve injured and dead in fall above shrund. Icy above the shrund on our climb. Weather deteriorated and tagged and turned at the summit.
easleygone - Apr 12, 2005 11:48 pm
Route Climbed: Hogsback Date Climbed: July 1988A truly great mountain to climb, but much more
dangerous to the beginner climber than it
appears. The icy conditions near the top are
the cause of many accidents. I saw tourists in
cut-off jeans and sneakers trying to claw their
way to the top!! No problems for experienced
mountaineers.
Alpinist - Apr 11, 2005 1:16 am
Route Climbed: Hogsback Date Climbed: April 9, 2005What an awesome climb! We broke through the cloud layer at 8,000' just as the sun was rising. The ice formations around the crater were truly spectacular to see with fresh snow and clear blue skies.
Here is my full trip report with some pics.
modeboy - Mar 15, 2005 8:10 pm
Route Climbed: south side Date Climbed: 03-12-2005left around 4:30am from the lodge. nice weather up with some wind. quite a few parties climbing that day. the crevasse is almost completely open now. actually went left of the gates through a small chute due to all of the teams going up and down at the same time. lots of ice fall. summited about 8:30am. great weather on the top. overall a great day.
yayoubetcha - Mar 7, 2005 8:33 pm
Route Climbed: South Side/Hogsback Date Climbed: March 7, 2005I read a recent summit log posted by Noah (Oregon) about the conditions on Mt. Hood. I decided to climb it while I still had the chance (on snow). I left this morning at 2:15am and the temperature was about 40 degrees (f). The snow was soft for most of the route. When I reached the Hogsback, the sun was just starting to shine on it and the Pearly Gates. As I approached the Pearly Gates, I felt like a pin at the business end of a bowling lane. There were many soft-ball sized chunks of Ice the p-gates were throwing directly at me. When I saw the bowling ball sized chunk of ice heading diretly toward me at the base of the Pearly Gates, I had to drop and protect myself with my pack. Since I forgot my helmet, I decided to head down, and the day was just getting warmed up. The snow bridge is still good direclty on the ridge of the hogsback. Not so good a few feet down either side..
ChuckO - Mar 7, 2005 6:51 pm
Route Climbed: SouthSide/HogsBack Date Climbed: 5MAR05Excellent climb, weather, partners, and Oregon SummitPoster's as hosts!
nebben - Mar 1, 2005 4:37 pm
Route Climbed: South side/Hogsback Date Climbed: February 26, 2005Started at 2:10AM, topped out by 7:15 I think? No ropes, excellent weather, views, awesome people to keep me from killing myself. Will try this again someday.
Noah (Oregon) - Feb 27, 2005 5:08 pm
Route Climbed: South Side Date Climbed: Feb. 26, 2005This was my fifth time on the South Side and the first time I've done this route "alone," though we usually don't rope up anyway. I was solo but there were plenty of interesting folks to talk to going up (and down). It was nearly a full moon and it made the route beautiful and somewhat other-worldly. I didn't even mind the snowcats down on Palmer. Days like this one were made for climbing and nothing can steal the good vibe, heck, even the walk back down was nice. However, if you think you are going to walz over the Bergschrund in a month or two, you are crazy. The climbing season is now, not in May and June like the books tell you. It is going to be brutally devoid of snow up there this year, so if you want to climb Hood in '05, strike while the iron is hot, go now. If you want to go rock collecting, just wait a month or two.
puddlecruiser - Feb 22, 2005 10:17 am
Route Climbed: Hogsback Date Climbed: July/Aug 2000Solo trip with my backpacking gear and pitched alpine camp on a ridgeline perch to the west of Crater Rock. My best campsite yet, watching the glow of Portland as the sun set. Heavy winds (50-70mph?) meant I slept through/didn't hear a helivac on the Hogsback Route the next morning. Apparently a rockfall had hit someone and broke their pelvis. Hogsback route was so frequently travelled that footprints had been pressed into the snow the entire way up the mountain.
skyhigh - Feb 21, 2005 10:22 pm
Route Climbed: Hogsback Date Climbed: Feb 17, 2005Unbelievable weather. You could see the buildings in downtown Portland. 40+ degrees at the top. Some ice at the top of the Hogsback and up.
Blakester - Feb 14, 2005 8:53 pm
Route Climbed: Hogsback Date Climbed: MArch 2004We did this on a clear night under a full moon, which made the monotonous lower sections pretty scenic.