On Friday I rented plastic boots, an ice-axe, crampons, and a helmet at a local shop. The boots smelled like nasty feet smell, but I was super stoked to be climbing Hood that it didn't bother me. At 4pm I tried to take a nap but only managed to get about 1hr of sleep. I dug through my dad's old ski clothes and yanked some thick gloves, a hat, and wool socks to use on the climb, which turned out to be the best decision i made that day. After the nap, I got in touch with Ben who suggested we leave at 12am that night, and start climbing as soon as we arrived at Timberline lodge. The idea was to reach the summit in time for the sun rise and be down, off the mountain by 9am. Though very intense, I agreed and knew that the early start could be beneficial.
Ben picked me up at 12am sharp. At around 2am we arrived at the timberline lodge parking lot (at around 5900ft). There was one other car parked next to us which most likely belonged to another climber(s) having started before us. We took a short break in the ski lodge (thankfully open) to prepare ourselves. The whole time Ben and I were gearing up, this loud 80's ski music was playing in the background. In a way, the music was pumping me up for the climb, however it was a little weird being in such a classic ski lodge, at 2am, with no one around, and with random ass 80's ski music playing. It was like being in a time warp.
After using the restroom, we self-registered our climb, and walked back outside to the cold wind. It was pitch black. Winds were around 20-40mph. It was 2:30am and I was getting very tired. My first thoughts were a mixture of 'how am I going to finish this 5,200ft climb' and 'oh shit I gotta keep up with Ben or I'll loose him'. Ben had climbed Hood before, however this was his first attempt during the winter season, and my first attempt during any season. However, I was still amped, and focused on putting one foot in front of the other, finding our way up the mountain to our first rest at the top of Palmer Glacier. Because there was no light, we used our head lamps to light up the snow in front of us. After a few hundred yards, my neck started to become sore from looking down at my feet so dam much. I tried looking up, however it was even more uncomfortable. I could see another climber ahead of us a few hundred yards. The other car in the parking lot probably belonged to him, and he was alone.
After a while, we passed the solo climber and started hiking up a cat track next to the Palmer lift. It took us about two hours to reach the top of the lift. At this time, the wind was relentlessly blowing a steady 30-40mph, and because we were higher up, the temperature was unbearable. Visibility got low, so we decided to hunker down in a little snow cave carved up against the lift structure. At first, it was very nice to escape the wind and relax in the snow cave. I was becoming very tired (it being around 4:30am), so I ate a granola bar and decided to take a little nap while we waited for the wind to die down and/or the sun to rise. However, I didn't sleep much at all due to how cold it was. Every time I tried closing my eyes, my body would tense up from the cold. Shivering didn't help warm me up enough, and that kind of freaked me out. Therefore, we decided to continue up the mountain and hoped that we would be warmer than sitting in a snow cave. We marched up slowly, not able to see very far above us, and not able to stand very upright due to the heavy gusts. A few minutes above the lift we saw the climber (who we had passed, but had since our break passed us) combing back down the mountain towards us. Ben and I made the decision to turn back and wait a little longer in the snow cave, perhaps until the sunrise, before continuing up to the summit.
We crawled back into the cave, but it was even colder than before. I tried sleeping, but the cold prevented me from getting any rest. It had to be anywhere from 0-10 degrees plus a slight breeze inside the snow cave. The dark confined space, low temperature, fatigue, and lack of sleep all contributed to a nice little head ache and nauseous feeling. I finally got out and tried to warm up by walking around. A snow cat made its way up and started displacing snow in front of us. I also saw two more climbers headed up in our direction. By the time the climbers reached us, it was getting to be sun rise. The sunrise was beautiful pink streaks of light that would come and go with the passing clouds. Eventually the sun lit up the majority of the sky allowing us to see the summit (or the cloudy summit). The summit didn't look inviting, however the two climbers, Ben and I decided we'd continue further until conditions worsened. We strapped on our crampons, took out our ice axes, and ate one last granola bar before continuing on.
By 7am, the wind was still gusting, and I had to put on my dad's ski gloves over my poly liners to prevent my hands from freezing. It's howl reminded me that I was on a glaciated volcano, on terrain, and in conditions that humans normally try to avoid. However, luckily the clouds started to clear around us, light and visibility were getting better, and I wasn't feeling so cold anymore. The higher, the steeper, and the farther away from Timberline Lodge we got, the more confidence I gained about climbing that morning. Ben was leading most of the way, sometimes waiting for me after a stretch of hillside. Sometimes we hiked in a similar rhythm. I repeated 'Iny meanie miny moe' in my head over and over to keep a good climbing pace. But one thing's for sure, I was not 100% physically prepared for the climb, thanks to a 4 day binge of Mexican food and drinking in San Diego earlier that week.
The stretch towards Crater Rock kicked my ass, but all I could do was advance my ice axe and pole, and let my feet follow. After some time my head ache disappeared, but my fingers were still cold. My body was cold or hot, depending on the amount of wind and the amount of layers I kept on. The progress we were making, though slow, rather impressed me. The two climbers that followed along were far behind us. After a while, you could see them sitting on a ridge looking up at us or the summit. They might have been studying the weather, but eventually I think they decided to turn around because one of the guys wasn't in too good of shape and blew all his energy climbing up Palmer Glacier.
After many 'Iny menie miny moes' and spurts of expelled energy, we made it up and around Crater Rock to Devil's Kitchen. Devils Kitchen was appropriately named after its many fumerals (steam vents) that were spitting out fart smelling gases into our faces, rather pleasant while climbing up a steep slope. Stopping at here reminded me that Mt. Hood is an volcano which can still produce seismic/volcanic activity. After a quick bite to eat, we assessed our approach to the summit. Though the wind slowed to about 20mph, clouds were blocking the summit's view and the last steep to climb had limited visibility as well. We decided to hike up to the Hog's Back to see if conditions would improve. The Hog's Back is a long stretch of spine or ridge, made of windblown snow, that leads directly towards the Bergschrund Glacier. I could see the glacier in front of me, and the route above the exposed glacier, through the 'Pearly Gates' didn't look appetizing. We decided to go down and around some fumerals then continue up a steep face to the left of the Bergschrund, weather permitting. Afterwards, the summit would be only a few minutes away.
Our luck ran out when more clouds poured over the top, and visibility started to become dangerously low around our approach. We decided to call it a day, and head back down towards Devil's Kitchen, around Crater Rock, and then finally towards Palmer Glacier. I took a moment to 'take in' the beauty around Hog's Back, thought about all the climbers who had been here before, all those who have died, and how awesome it was for Ben and I to be the only people on this section of the mountain. For a moment, we were the highest people in the state of Oregon at around 10,600 ft. Even though we decided to pass the last 600-700 ft. of mountain, I was overly satisfied and couldn't believe I had made it to where we were.
On our way down by Devil's Kitchen, we passed two climbers headed up. They saw the same clouds we were staring at, however, they decided to wait it out. After about 30-40 minutes of down climbing, I looked behind us and sure enough, we could see the summit. I wasn't jealous that those two had probably reached the summit, but happy for them. I wasn't angry that we turned around, for the weather could have become even worse. I was happy with the 'smart' decision we made. Therefore, I'll be back some day soon to finish what we had started and summit Mt. Hood once in for all!
If anybody is interested in climbing Mt. Hood, let me know. I can always use a climbing partner.
1 comment:
Cool to read the entire story and glad you made the smart decision to turn back and return another day. It sounds so grueling!
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