Mt. Hood ideas

[erugs]

We're thinking of a guided climb on Mt. Hood this June. Do any of you have suggestions on this trip and what else to do while we're out there? As always, thanks in advance for all the helpful information.

 

[Jay H]

Spend some time walking along the base of Mt Hood, along the PCT... In June, you should see tons of wildflowers and stuff. Another thing that seems popular is the columbia river gorge which is closeby.

Maybe stop by Boring, OR and find something to do there.

Jay

 

[Chip]

Before our Rainier summit last year we did a 2 day mountaineering class above Paradise at about 6000' on the mountain and an acclimatizing day hike to Camp Muir at 10,000'. Both of these were a great help physically and psychologically when it came to Game Day. I'd recommend something similar for Hood, unless you have already summited similar mountains and are pressed for time.

Mt St Helens was also a worth while side trip. It can be hiked (with permits) from the south out of Cougar. The visitor center is on the north side.

 

[J.Dub]

Which guide service(s) are you considering?

I'm trying to convince my partner that we need to do Hood this summer, and we're debating whether or not to go guided. June is "in-season" so if you're planning on the Hogsback route, I doubt you'd have much in the way of routefinding problems, assuming decent weather. (YMMV, of course...)

Alternate/additional plans could include a climb of one of the Three Sisters or Broken Top.

 

[woodsxc]

Talk to twoshuzz on Summitpost. He is a Mt. Hood encyclopedia and has summited many many times.

 

[erugs]

Brian's going to contact Timbwerline. Looks like we'll be aiming for their mid-July trip. He's summited Rainier (I got as high as the base of Disappointment Clever). Last September we climbed Whitney via the East Face route.

 

[Peakbagr]

Be careful about how late you go. Once the warm temps start melting the snow, you can be climbing across a bowling alley when the sun hits the upper ridges and starts whizzing rocks past you. We went too late in the season, left the summit and started down at 7am and felt like we were crossing a target range for mortars.

 

[TMax]

Mt. St. Helens, even just around the base (no permit needed) is a great hike. I would also ditto the Columbia River Gorge area. It can be a fantastic driving tour or you can get out and hike as much as you want. Tons of beautiful waterfalls all along the route to the gorge, and then the gorge itself is pretty awesome!

 

[J.Dub]

Talk to twoshuzz on Summitpost. He is a Mt. Hood encyclopedia and has summited many many times.

Thanks, bro.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Be careful about how late you go. Once the warm temps start melting the snow, you can be climbing across a bowling alley when the sun hits the upper ridges and starts whizzing rocks past you. We went too late in the season, left the summit and started down at 7am and felt like we were crossing a target range for mortars.

I second that. Mid-July sounds very late in the season for Hood to me because of the rock fall on many of the routes.

 

[cbcbd]

So you guys climbed the East Face route of Whitney, one of you summitted Rainier and you're thinking of hiring a guide for South route of Hood? Not talking against guided climbs, I'm just curious why you're picking to have this one guided when you seem to have some good experience.

A couple years ago a few of us climbed Hood's South route in early July. Other than climbing in the clouds the whole time, climbing conditions were fine, snow 95% of the way, temps were cold enough that I don't remember anything wizzing by us - probably helped that it was cloudy. The not-so-ideal weather also kept everyone away from it, we only saw a few parties up there climbing the beaten in route.

If you can, I'd plan it earlier just to maximize probability of better conditions, but you just never know until that day.

As far as what else to do... How many days do you have total? Again, the Columbia River gorge is very nice. Hood River is a nice little town with good beer (Full Sail) and a famous center for windsurfing and kite boarding.
You could also head to Astoria, OR to see the Goonies house

 

[Snowflea]

So you guys climbed the East Face route of Whitney, one of you summitted Rainier and you're thinking of hiring a guide for South route of Hood? Not talking against guided climbs, I'm just curious why you're picking to have this one guided when you seem to have some good experience.

I was kinda wondering the same thing.

The Wonderland Trail around Rainier ROCKS if you have a few days to spend. There's also a 40'ish mile trail around Hood, I think.

What everyone else said about the Gorge. Dog Mtn. is a nice hike on the WA side as is Tunnel Falls on the OR side. St. Helens is interesting. And if you go through Portland, check out the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park AND Powell's Books if you're into really groovy new/used bookstores.

 

[Woody]

Near Mount St. Helen is the Ape Cave. It is an interesting lava tube a couple of miles long. Bring a head lamp and a jacket. It's a nice way to spend an afternoon after you've climbed Hood, Adams, or Rainier.

 

[erugs]

So you guys climbed the East Face route of Whitney, one of you summitted Rainier and you're thinking of hiring a guide for South route of Hood? Not talking against guided climbs, I'm just curious why you're picking to have this one guided when you seem to have some good experience.
How many days do you have total?
You could also head to Astoria, OR to see the Goonies house

We've had experiences (Whitney, Rainier, Grand Teton) but not on our own. We thought of hiring a guide as a way to get additional experience first-hand. I personally prefer traveling without a guide (after my first experience attempting Rainier and feeling that I was ruled out and sent back before summit day because I'm perhaps slower). We had guides for all three of the above-mentioned trips. I think our guide on Whitney was sorry he hadn't asked us more questions about our abilities before taking us up , but that's another, longer story. (Both the Whitney and Grand guides seemed to hope we'd sign up with them for other trips in the future, though.)

We'll probably be in the area for a week and would like to hike St. Helen's again, as when we were there the first time (guideless!) we encountered a blinding snowstorm and turned around before summiting.

As always, I appreciate what I learn from my friends on VFTT! Keep your recommendations and opinions coming, please.

That brew sounds like a must have...

 

[Peakbagr]

St Helens is the bombeek. We were among the first parties to be granted a permit after the mountain was reopened. Hiked up to and partly around the crater rim. Just a tiny dome actively forming back then. So many rocks and boulders were constantly falling into the crater that day it sounded like a rainstorm. Dust, dust, dust everywhere. Because the ejected rocks and rocks were so newly exposed, all the rock edges were sharp, some of them razor sharp.
We had a superb day. Hope you get a chance to go there while you are out west.

Alan

 

[Chugach001]

Mt. Adams is a slog but is very high and the standard route is glacier free so you can feel safe. St. Helen's is just marvelous to look down into that caldera. Both are great ski runs down. I had a magical experience on hood all by myself and got lucky with my time there.

As everyone else said, the flowery meadow hikes are all wonderful. The Sister mountains south of Hood are nice and less crowded. Bend is a cool town with rock climbing near by at Smith Rocks.

Being from the east coast, I think a trip west to the ocean or east to the desert are both good fun.

Have fun out there.

 

[DougPaul]

Mt. Adams is a slog but is very high and the standard route is glacier free so you can feel safe.

Perhaps glacier free, but the route does involve steep snow and ice. And perhaps weather and navigational difficulty.

Doug

 

[timmus]

Dust, dust, dust everywhere.

Oh yeah. The dust up there killed my good old Lowa's.

Half-day hike to superb water falls : Ramona Falls, west of Mt Hood. No tourists, beautiful rhododendron flowers along the trail. Best with the love one

Mt Hood in mid-July was a good choice for us. We spent the night on the mountain (el. 9000 ft I think), and were the first group to summit at 6am.

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions. And have a good trip !

 

[Gwynna]

Lots to do up there. I, personally, recommend checking out the Tilly Jane Trail on the other side of the mountain. But that could have something to do with the fact that I nominated that trail to the National Register. Lots of other trails around there, including one to Mirror Lake (or Pond?) - very pretty.

Definitely check out Hood River - cool little town, lots to do, good places to eat, and, of course, Full Sail.

Portland is also an absolutely fabulous place. The only city that I would ever consider living in. LOVE that place. They ripped out an interstate to put in a park - need I say more?

You should absolutely stay at Timberline Lodge if you can at all afford it. Feather beds. Mm-hmmm. Say it with me: "Fea-ther-beds."

Summer skiing. Good stuff. Watch out for the hotshot racing kids. Rentals were pretty affordable, IIRC, so you wouldn't need to bring gear.

Then again, I spent a week just bummin' around at Timberline, thanks to winning a contest from Gunstock. One of the best vacations ever. So really, just going up there to relax and unwind is amazing - you are so far from anything but with all the conveniences right there. You pay for it, but it is a wonderful spot.

 

[cbcbd]

We've had experiences (Whitney, Rainier, Grand Teton) but not on our own. We thought of hiring a guide as a way to get additional experience first-hand. I personally prefer traveling without a guide (after my first experience attempting Rainier and feeling that I was ruled out and sent back before summit day because I'm perhaps slower).

That's cool. Nothing wrong with going with a guided service to an unknown area.
But just so you know, it's pretty unlikely you'll be on Hood alone on the South side
Here is a TR from this past weekend, check out the pics:
http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=881092