Mt Hood Summit
On day 1, we climbed from Timberline lodge past the top of the Palmer lift, and set up camp around 9,200 ft. The weather on the way up was a mix of sun, snow, hail, and at least one flash of lightning, which definitely gave me second thoughts. Luckily, the thunderstorm was not directly overhead. It was a fair amount of work putting up four tents to accommodate everyone in our party – we had to clear rocks, pack snow, and anchor the tents using large rocks
This climb is generally a one day event, with no camping, but it was fun to make a weekend out of it – the weather calmed down and we were able to relax after setting up the tents.
Early the next morning, we began our climb in calm, slightly too warm conditions. Our goal was to be on the summit for sunrise. We were the first group up the mountain. Somewhere near the Hogs Back, we heard a loud rock slide. It was spooky.
After ascending the Hogs Back, we traversed right, on steep snow, immediately beneath the bergshrund. This part was my least favorite – we paused for a few minutes while the climber considered abandoning the route. He had punched a hole into the crevasse with his ice axe and none of us were roped up. We decided to continue
Passing by the hole, which was at face level, you could look right into the gap. Thankfully, the bergshrund/crevasse wasn’t too deep, but it was nerve wracking.