Mt Hood

Big thanks to Adrien for organizing and climbing with us, he’s been to the summit of Mt. Hood twice and clearly knows the way! With his experience, it made  the planning and route-finding a lot smoother (and gave us some much-needed peace of mind on such a popular peak).

We crossed the border southbound early Saturday morning, heading straight for Oregon. Mt. Hood greeted us with its classic profile and, unsurprisingly, a busy trailhead. This mountain is notorious not just for its beauty but also for the number of climbers, and unfortunately, its accident history. Once you see the crowds, it makes sense. Still, we were glad to be part of the early morning push, keeping ahead of the bulk of the groups.

The climb itself was rewarding, snow conditions were good, and the skies stayed clear enough for a beautiful summit view. Traffic on the mountain meant we had to be extra cautious with rockfall and spacing, but the camaraderie of climbers on the route added to the experience.

We reached the summit with big smiles and the classic photos, then descended safely with tired legs and happy hearts.

Mt. Hood is absolutely worth the effort, but an early start, solid planning, and experienced partners like Adrien make all the difference.

After a long drive, we finally made it to Timberline lodge where we registered. We settled in and pitched our tents  on a  locked gate campground. We have chosen to camp before the lodge to get away with the curious tourists wandering around our campsite. At 6pm, we all crawled in to our sleeping bag and passed out.

We were off the trail by 2am. From the parking lot, we could see a train of light  heading for the summit. A big group attacking the East ridge and an ample amount taking the most popular South route, including us. The view from Devil's Kitchen was something that I've expected. It was a gong show watching  everyone lined up descending and ascending from old chute route while Pearly Gate attracted only 2 groups on rope and 2 solos coming down. I expressed my interest to Adrien of climbing Pearly Gate,a  less crowded route, but the main hazard is the bergshrund on the snow ridge(known as Hogback).

We parted ways in two groups; Adrien and Bonn-Tien headed to Old Chute, while Alex and I decided to take Pearly Gate. The ascent route was icy and a little steep to my liking. I don't mind the steepness if the snow is good for kicking steps or at least a pair of ice tools instead of just regular ice axe.

Descending to Old chute was quite overwhelming, to say the least. A lot of ice falls caused by other group. Luckily, we were above them.