Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Has anyone hiked Mt. Hood?

I'm seriously thinking of hiking to the summit of Mount Hood. I figure if Al Gore can do it, then I sure as heck can. I'm sure some good folks here have done Hood. Do you need ice axe and crampons in late August? I know there's a permanent snow field there but am unsure whether the trail would skirt that section. What are the trail conditions like? Any comments would be helpful to me.

I haven't been up lately to tell you current conditions, but there is a glacier near the summit that should still require ice axe and crampons. Since the snow gets soft this time of year, suggest that you get an early start from the base - 1 am or so - so that you will climb on hard snow.

If you read the Climber's Report, you'll see that they are not recommending that anyone climb until next year. I was planning on doing Hood this weekend, but think I'll have to do it another year.

See:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/recreation2003/mountain-climbing/conditions/index.shtml

disagree with the poster before me.
The climbing conditions at mt hood vary day to day.
since the big accident a couple of years ago the press and the unpreparred are heading to hood like gov davis to money.
you can sneak by without a guide , I and the family used a great one this past july and had a blast.
You must demostrate that you are in good physical condition and can use a ice ax and crampons with instruction.
You camp high up and get up in the dark and summit at daybreak. With all the warm weather along the west coast it has made some dangerous climbing, however things change. dont listen to gossip. Call a guide service and get the scoop.

Thanks, Richard, for your post. I appreciate it. I think I had best bag this notion till next year. I appreciate your input, you saved me money and time. Thanks much.

dont give up
ask a expert in oregon.
not just a poster on this board

Are you guys talking about Mt. Hood or Mt. Rainier? Mt. Hood is a cake walk to within 200-300 feet (vertical) of the top compared to Mt. Rainier. Only the last section up Hood presents any technical difficulty do to an open berkshund (I can never spell that correctly) and rockfall due to melting ice.

I don't remember Al Gore climbing Mt. Hood and most folks do not use a guide on this peak.

Al Gore climbed Mt. Hood the week after he discovered penicillin and the week before he invented the Internet.

In clear weather and good snow conditions, Hood is about as technically simple as a snow climb can be up to about 10,500 feet. You'd have to be trying very sincerely to actually get lost or injured. But (and some say mine is a very big but) the top 600-700 feet are steep, with some nasty run-outs on either side, and after April there's the schrund that made its point amply well in May of 2002!

This late in the year, it's likely to be a dreary trudge up talus and scree to snowline, and I'd imagine there may be some very slick ice up there too. I wouldn't attempt the upper Hogsback to the Pearly Gates if I knew there was hard ice there. Definitely check with the rangers on conditions up high!

We did Mt. Hood 8 years ago about the first of July. There was still snow all the way from Timberline ski resort, but it not technically difficult up to the crevase. Above the crevase, though, through the Pearly gates was so icy we couldn't didn't make footprints in the snow. The Pearly gates were hard ic with no snow for about 50 feet. If it is like that you need to be very careful, since a fall could really cause hurt or death. If the weather is better (contact the forest service) it would be a good mountain to experience. We needed no guide.

We climbed Mt. Hood on June 22, 23 of this year.

The climb (this is not a hike) is not very difficult, but should not be taken lightly. Last year four people died on Mount Hood, and over the past 25 years, at least twenty people have not made it down from the mountain alive.

There are a few ways to climb Mt. Hood. In all scenarios, you will need crampons, an ice axe, and you should climb the pitch above the bergschrund roped together. The best bet is to climb it during the week.

Scenario One. Pay for the snowcat to take you up to 8500 feet, and climb from there. It should take about three hours to summit from there.

Scenario Two. Climb from the Timberline Lodge, starting at midnight. You should be on the summit by 6:00am to 7:00am.

Scenario Three. Make it a two day trip. This makes it very enjoyable. Leave the Lodge sometime in the morning of day one and climb to over 8500 feet. (We camped at a plateau around 9200ft.) Day two starts before dawn, 3:00am wakeup, start climbing by 4:00am. You'll be on the summit by 8:00am at a leisurely pace. You'll be back down, with a camp break down period thrown in, by early afternoon.

E-mail me if you want more info.

I just flew past Mt. Hood (on the west side) and there was very little snow/ice that I could see anywhere on the mountain all the way to the summit.

I did Hood on June 23, 2003. Great climb. But you may have to wait for more snow to return. Looks like conditions have deteriorated quite a bit since my climb. Check out this link for current conditions:

www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/recreation2003/mountain-climbing/conditions

Also might want to check with Timberline Mountain Guides. I think their site is

www.timberlinemtguides.com

P.S. I never heard anything about Algore doing Hood. Maybe it was Al Bundy.

In addition to inventing the Internet (we should all thank him - this board exists due to him), he's climbed Rainier. He did it with his son a few years ago.

There's a picture at:

http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/Photos_Al%20Gore.htm

Al Gore did summit Rainier a few years ago, mostly thanks to the large contingent of climbing rangers who broke trail, fixed protection, carried the gear, etc. etc.

Here is a photo of Al Gore at the top of Rainier. I don't think he ever did Hood.

http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/Photos_Al%20Gore.htm

If you are doing the standard route up from Timberline Lodge, as others have pointed out it's simply a long snow slog until you get close to the summit. At that point it gets somewhat hazardous. The nature of the hazard is a crevasse that runs horizontally across the route and is probably not practical to bypass by going around it. This crevasse is the bergschrund, the crevasse that forms between the moving glacier and the ice that is stuck to mountain. Earlier in the year it will tend to bridged with snow, and not be much problem to cross, but as snow melts it becomes more difficult. While it's not terribly steep above it, if you slip up there and can't stop, you'll end up in it. So for the most part I would classify it as a rather trivial climbing problem that can kill you. So in the end I would recommend taking and using axe, crampons and rope, and getting some familiarity with crevasse rescue technique. That being said, you may see some dudes up there skipping by you in tennies or flip flops. God sometimes protects drunks, fools and small children in high hazard situations.

Mike