Mt. Hood Summit

"I would definitely recommend this trip to a friend."

Photos: [Top] Mt Hood casts a shadow on surrounding cloud deck at sunrise; [Below] last pitch, nearing the summit.

At 11,235 ft., Mt. Hood is Oregon's highest peak. It is also the second most-climbed mountain in the world behind Japan's Mt. Fuji. Overall, the climb can be described as a long hike with a short semi-technical pitch to the summit and a view from the rooftop of the state. Following a day of snow travel instruction with Timberline Mountain Guides, our climb started at 3:00 am from Timberline Lodge at around the 6,000 ft. level on Mt. Hood. We were lucky enough to hitch a ride on a sno-cat to the 8,500 ft. mark, shaving off about three hours of hiking from the lodge. Standing around in the dark unloading our gear from the sno-cat, we saw a shooting star streak over the top of the mountain, a good omen for our climb.

At 6:30 am the sun was dawning and revealing a pyramid shadow against a backdrop of low cloud cover. By that time, we had reached the Hogsback, a saddle that lies among the sulfur stinking fumaroles about 800 ft. below the summit, and the place to put on crampons and rope up. Our climb took place in the first weekend in May, and in the early hours the snow was consolidated and easy to walk on, and we made good time. After some zig-zagging to skirt an open crevasse and a short steep climb to the top, we looked over the Cascade range from the Three Sisters near Bend, OR up to Mt. Rainier in Washington.

Photos: [Above] Mt. Hood fumaroles; [Bottom] Colby at the summit.

After thirty minutes on the summit we packed up and headed back down to the Hogsback as the sun began to shine more intensely, heating us up and turning the snow to an unpredictable mush.

From the Hogsback, we glissaded down where we could, and stumbled as we hiked back down to Timberline Lodge around noon, looking back at the summit and wondering, a little, about how we had managed to make it all the way to the top and back.

Notes
Mt. Hood, with its easy accessibility from Portland and its manageable hiking distance, is a great place to learn the basics of mountaineering and climb glaciated peak. Several guide companies as well as mountaineering clubs offer day courses on the basics of snow travel and the use of basic mountaineering equipment. This type of instruction is highly recommended for those who are making the leap from "regular hiking" to classic mountaineering.

Note: This is backcountry wilderness travel. Any trail can become very dangerous in winter conditions. You are responsible for informing yourself of the hazards and taking the necessary precautions. Please read Terms of Use.