The Hogsback on Mt Hood. Summer and I decended this and hung out in the sun for a while, watching the crowds crawl all over it, while we had been alone on the classic Wy'east route.
Like clockwork, every season I start getting the urge to go back to Mt Hood in winter. Its really no surprise to me: my first winter alpine routes, in 1993 and 1994, were on Mt. Hood. There is something about the cold pre-dawn darkness, the wind dying at sunrise, the accessibilty and beauty of the mountain itself that keeps me coming back. Its Illumination Saddle at dawn, with a cold and shadowed Reid Glacier urging you forward, while the sun lights up the tired and crowded Southside route. Its leaving all that you've ever known behind, for a brief while, and heading into the unknown. These are the feelings I get, and relive, when climbing routes on Mt Hood in the winter.
When I first moved to Oregon in 1993, I lived in Government Camp. The Ratskeller was and old friend, and so was the mountain. That first season I climbed the mountain perhaps four or five times by different routes, mostly in winter and midweek with no one else on the mountain, and came to appreciate its own version of perfection and possiblities. So now, many years later, I still long for that feeling of exploration and isolation, in the midst of one of the most heavily travelled mountains not only in the Pacific Northwest, but the World. It is still possible, its why people love the mountain.
Summer had never climbed Mt. Hood. We had tried once before but had been shut down by weather. This time the forecast was brilliant, and I proposed we climb the mountain by a new route (for me), to keep my interest level up and also to avoid the intensly boring slog up the Southside from overwhelming Summer's enthusiasm. So on a cold February night, we slept in the back of the 4Runner and got underway at about 4am. This early in the year its really not important to start any sooner, as it remains dark until about 6:30 or 7:00 am, which gives you plenty of time to get most of the boring trudge to the top of Palmer out of the way while its still dark.
The route Summer and I chose was one I had never tried before, the supposedly classic "Wy'East" route up the flanks of Steele Cliff. I had explored all other sides of the mountain except for this East side, and was curious about the route and its position. So while the throngs of people heading up the slopes from Timberline made a bee-line for Crater Rock, Summer and I traversed over to the edge of the White River glacier and scoped out the approach. It is here, back in 1994, that lowered into my first-ever crevasse. Kent Swanson and I came up here to practice crevasse rescue. Knowing there were some crevasses to be reckoned with, Summer and I had brought a rope, but this was easy terrain and we discovered that if you traverse to the base of Steele Cliff high enough, there is no need to rope up through the White River glacier. So we approached up to around 9,200 feet, and traversed over to Steele Cliff unroped and quickly got up to the base of the Cliff, before the sun hit its top and the inevitable barrage of rime ice pellets started.
The Hogsback on Mt Hood. Summer and I decended this and hung out in the sun for a while, watching the crowds crawl all over it, while we had been alone on the classic Wy'east route.
From the base of Steele Cliff, the normal route traverses around and up to the right. We elected a variation that climbs the ramps of the Cliff directly, and this was an enjoyable and much-longer-than-it-looked journey to the top of Steele Cliff. Still unroped, Summer and I cramponed up the cold ice fields and snow slopes. In some places the snow and ice cover was thin, and care was needed. A fall here would be deadly, but the climbing was enjoyable, the exposure manageable, and the vistas and position really excellent. The route tops out on Steele Cliff after analmost 1500 ft climb, and traverses the crumbling East side of Steele Cliff easily to the base of the summit cone. The traverse is scenic and not exposed, taking you past interesting towers and views down the Newton-Clark side of the mountain. Far far below is the Timberline Ski Area, and further the Eastern Oregon desert. Because you are on the East side of the mountain, you are in the sun the entire time, so the winter travel is warm, relaxing, and pleasant (in good weather!).
The base of the summit cone provides the crux of the route. Here, a series of steep steps and traverses bring you into the final gully to the summit pyramid, above the Cooper Spur and North Face routes above the Northeast face of the mountain. The going is steep, insecure, and very exposed! There is little, if any, snow protection, and the mantra is self-belay, self-belay, self-belay! Because its in the sun early, getting to this point as early as possible makes the climbing more secure. A fine finish to a very scenic route!
Once on the summit, the reality of the situation hits: you are on one of the most popular summits in the Cascades and the World. The summit, and the decent down the Hogsback, is mobbed with people. Summer and I spent some time on the summit and made our way casually down to the base of the Hogsback, where we hung out for a while in the sun, examining our route and the Devils Kitchen Headwall. Soon, we packed up and started the long slog down. It was Summer's first time (up or down) the Southside route, and she confirmed that she would have found it intensely boring. We were both really pleased with the Wy'east route, and highly recommend it as a classic winter mountain route for Mt Hood, that offers scenic viewes, isolation from the crowds, and keeps the interest level high.