Mt Hood Summit, July 2008

A small group of us summited Mt Hood in July 2008.

The adventure started at 10pm the night before. The weather had been horrible all week, and we were certain that conditions would not permit us to even try to climb. But we had nothing to lose just driving up to the trailhead at Timberline Lodge, so we packed up our stuff and headed to the mountain. Our entire commute to the mountain met with only rain...until the last 5 minutes. That is when we punched through the clouds during the final stretch of Timberline Rd.

We finally hit the trail around midnight. The sky was now absolutely clear and there was no wind, but there was a new moon, not ideal for a night climb. It was a long, quiet hike, only interrupted by the multiple snowcats grooming the slopes to the west. Headlamps were mandatory so our eyes never were able to adjust. Just as we reached the top of Palmer, a snowcat passed us to drop off its load of climbers who chose to skip the first 2 1/2 miles. They were fresh and full of energy, greatly contrasting our tired bodies and sore feet.

The rest of the climb included a beautiful sunrise, a constant stream of climbers, regularly dodging falling rocks (the result of climbing so late in the season), and unfortunately witnessing a significant fall by an unknown mountaineer.

It truly was a beautiful day!

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• climbing
• climb
• mountaineering
• Mt Hood
• summit
• Palmer
• Portland
• Oregon
• Pearly Gates
• Mazama shute
• Hogsback
• Devil's Kitchen
• Crater Rock
• Timerberline Lodge

[Samarkaify]

Nice video! I love this mountain. (:

What was it like for you? ^^

[PortlandHobnob]

@Samarkaify The first time I climbed it (in high school) it was great, since I was naive and in shape (I am a runner). This July 2008 climb was tough since I was much heavier and out of shape. Planning on getting in shape this year and tackling it again.

[concoursboy]

How many times have you climb Hood? How much time did it take you to summit?

[PortlandHobnob]

@concoursboy Let's see...this was my second successful summit. There was a third time when I didn't summit because I had a HUGE fall and had be life flighted off the mountain, and ended up in the ICU for three days.

[PortlandHobnob]

@concoursboy There are two common ways to climb the South route: If you climb from Timberline Lodge, you start around midnight and can summit around sunrise (~7hrs) depending on fitness and the line on the Hogsback. Or another way is to rent a ride on the cat, which drops you off at the top of the Palmer lift. The cat ride is an hour long, and the climb from Palmer is about 3-4 hrs.

[2008shelbysupersnake]

Hey man this video is awsome. Good work with the camera, very good motion picture's. That was just perfect to see. It makes me happy to see people taking interest in thing like this. What does it feel like to climb a sleeping volcano thats benn watched simce thi mid 1980's now?

[PortlandHobnob]

Thanks! Working the camera gave me an excuse to take some nice breaks (and let the rest of the team catch up! ;)

How does it feel? Well, that day it really STANK! The sulfur from the volcanic vents was the worse I have ever smelled! I have a strong stomach, but I really had a hard time climbing while smelling that.

[cfware]

Thanks,  Nice work all around.

[Deific16]

Can't wait, doing this in 3 weeks!