Mt Hood Summit

As if you needed another reason to c;limb Mt Hood, here are a few more. I always tell folks that Mt Hood is my favorite summit. Its incredible, climbing from above the Queens Chair, you traverse North to South along the Eastern Rim. It feels epic, it is epic.

Summit view looking north as sunrise and the sun make the perfect mountain shadow

Looking South, the cloud patterns hint at the windplay at play

Climbers approaching the summit

The Eastern Rim can sometimes make for an airy exit onto the summit

 

Bugaboos 2006

The Bugaboos in BC Canada between Cranbrook and Golden, truly an alpine experience to treasure and remember.  After just one visit, you will want to return on a yearly basis, alas as the date shows , I have not been there since 2006.  Many climbers will tell you of how they spent their entire time here in a tent, saturated from the constant rain, we were very fortunate and had four wonderful day of sunny climbing.

A 50 Classic, The NE Ridgeof Bugaboo Spire, IV 5.7 Awesome, route climbs the right ridge and traverses the spire before descending South Ridge sometimes called the Kain route

East Face, Snowpatch Spire,

West Face Snowpatch Spire, with the Vowell glacier

The famous col between Snowpatch and Bugaboo.  Its the rapel route at the end of the day for many climbs and also the entrance to the Vowel glacier, Pigeon Spire and Howser towers

Snowpatch, and Pigeon in the background, Crescent glacier in the foreground

Add a few climbers to the photo )

Pigeon Spire, the most fun 5,4 Alpine climb ever, classic glacier approach, airy alpine climbing. Heavily crevassed start to the Vowell glacier, Lets do that part in the daylight please !!

Closer look at Pigeon Spire, the west ridge is on the right skyline, the Howser towers is on the far right

Howser Cirque

Getting a closer look at the Kruse- MacCarthy route On Snowpatch Spire

High on the MacCarthy route

Looking at our descent route off Bugaboo Spire, the South Ridge and the summit traverse

Sun sets on a climbing day

A cold early start for Bugaboo Spire

Getting closer to the start of the climb, looks classically steep

View from Pitch One, we are relaxing as other climbers get first dibs on the route, They later sent us some photos

Classic finger crack

“Where to go?”, me in the orange helmet checking out the topo!!

The answer is “Up there”

Incredible view of Snowpatch

Inspiring as we look to trace out climbing lines for our next visit!!

Close to the summit, this can be the crux of the climb, deciding which way to access the South Ridge descent.

Getting ready to rapel.

Last rapel of the day, the exit off the Crescent Col

Another day in the vertical world

Incredible views

Looking North West

 

Rock and Snow everywhere

Mc Tech Arete

Mc Tech Arete, thin finger crack

The butt smear, Joe in classic rest position

Climb time

Reuben loving the granite friction

Reuben on belay duty, Bugaboo Spire in the background, its an amazing experience to climb next to the NE Ridge, knowing that you had been there the day before, the position and reflection makes for a special day

Today is a nice short day climbing Mc Teach Arete, III 5.10a

Reuben having fun

Looking down, happy to be on the summit

 

 

North Sister

North Sister, what a wonderful climb when its snow or ice covered. For this reason and because of a long access, my climbing window for this mountain is very small and my guiding window is even smaller…..just ask any of my climbers that have tried to climb this with me Seems we have to cancel the trip all too often.

This is a two day trip, we hike to the base of the Villard glacier and set up camp.  The climb starts early the next morning and seeks a line through the snow on the right

Starting off at Pole Creek trailhead

A closer look near camp

A few point release slides tell us that its warm up there and that the snow pack is saturated.  We are hoping for a cold, clear night to complete the melt / freeze cycle.

Looking North, during a cold alpine start to the day

Sunrise but as the sun comes up, we will be moving into the shadow of the West Face

Climbing under great conditions

The upper North Ridge, I wish there was more snow but the prospects of water ice in the gullies is good

Looking across the East Face

Glisan Tower

Bob on the first traverse

View of the west side looking at Middle Sister

Glisan and Prouty towers, North and South summits

Looking North, the trail is some sections has melted out

High West Face traverse, the sun is starting to reach the saddle, that is where we will find the sun.

Prouty tower, South Summit

Climbing on the West face towards the saddle

Standing at the col between North and South summit, the East entrance to the South (Prouty) summit is out of condition

Bob at the saddle

South and Middle Sister in the background

Bob on the summit

My turn for a photo op

 

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Mt Hood Pearly Gates L

Hmm Mt Hood, still my fav mountain, so many trips, so many wonderful times, its a challenge to pick some moments in the form of photos, but lets try, I have a feeling that this is one route that will get constant updates  :)

The Pearly Gates, our climb traverses to the right before moving up thro the left chute

In the last few years the upper traverse from the Hogsback to the Chute has got steeper and longer

Heather and Ida

Where are the pickets? in this case the snow would not support their placement and would be an illusion of security, better to avoid that focus distraction for the climbers.

Looking up into the Left Chute, boot pen is at 8″, someone has been here before us

Second pitch

Climbing up towards the chute

Seeing the sun but we are still in the shadow and feeling the cold

Sometimes this chute can be closed with ice or can form a small 10ft WI3 step

What is on the other side of the chute, the exit near the summit.

Far below, some climbers gather on the Hogsback as Ida and Heather climb through the  exit moves

The view from the summit rim looking west

Looking SE at the finish to the Cooper Spur

Looking down the North Face to Cathedral Rock

Ida, Joe and Heather on the summit

Time to descend

Looking back at the summit along the North rim

Descending towards Crater Rock

A close up reveals the hot rock and the rising sulphur

Its always very rewarding to look back and marvel at what you have achieved

 

 

Mt Rainier 2008

Mt Rainier at 14410ft is the second tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, Mt Whitney is bigger by about 30ft. In terms on hugeness, Rainier stands on its own. I am not sure if hugeness is a word but when we are talking about Rainier , it should be.  Lyle and Heather  and myself decided to climb the DC route, which starts at Paradise with a tent site at Cam Muir located at 10, 100ft

See it is huge

Getting packed up at Paradise

Looking down at the Tatoosh mountains, skiing to Camp Muir is a great way to save energy

Sometimes part of the climb will be melted out, have a stream crossing and the skis come off. If its for a small portion, the skis are hand carried otherwise we strap them to the packs

The view looking towards the Tatoosh and Paradise, looks like another ski carry coming up.

yes

At least its a short carry

A view of the summit, 7000ft away

A picture of the Andinista and the tent at Camp Muir

Mapping out the route

Dinner, yes its a can of tuna for dinner

The view is everywhere

On the DC, looking down at the Emmons glacier

The summit slope looks so flat yet its 2000ft higher and 2-3 hours away!!

Lyle falls asleep during a rest stop

Ice Seracs Above the Ingraham at 13000ft

its a long day, 8-10 hours from camp to summit

Looking down at Tahoma Peak

Its clear and sunny but the wind keeps keeps the air temp pretty cold. The face mask is one of my fav pieces of gear

Taking a break at a flat spot

Reaching the summit rim

View of the summit crater, the volcano has a crater the size of a rugby stadium

Heather and Lyle in the summit crater

Descending to the cleaver

Looking down at the crevasses on the Ingraham glacier

A closer look

Traversing over lots of exposure

Connected to the fixed rope

Steep traverse

Rainier has plenty of big gaping holes, our route is near the top of the photo under the cliffs

Ingraham Flats is another place to camp at 11,200ft.

Can you see the tiny dots?, climbers making the traverse on the DC

Back down to camp, its a quick pack up and now for the ski down for nearly 500ft..awesome!!

 

 

 

Mt Jefferson West Rib

The West Rib is a great route, the approach is snow free earlier then all the other routes and so can be climbed most of the year but especially after April.  Its a fun route and next time  will bring my skis

Great campsite at 7200ft

Looking back at the campsite so so far away

Heather and Lyle at a belay anchor

View of the summit tower, the crux

The camera making our summit feel much closer

Lyle loving the conditions

The Naja and the North Ridge, looking over to the JPG finish

Joe and Heather enjoying the view

Heather and Lyle enjoying a anchor stop, Pamelia Lake is a long way below us.

Same location without the zoom!!

Summit tower

The route to the top. getting close

Some exposure is simply incredible

This must not be the crux if I have time for a photo

A gigi, a harness and rope at the summit

Lyle, wishing he was nowhere else

Its good to see everyone still smiling at the crux

Summit shot

Time to write in the logbook that is kept in a small cannister screwed into the rock

View looking South

View looking North

View looking East

Time to leave the summit

Descending from summit

Having completed the rap from the summit

Another reason to start early is to avoid any afternoon thunderclouds that can develop. Mt Jefferson is at the crest between the coastal influence and the desert.

The summit is covered in clouds but we are down, good timming

 

 

 

Adams Glacier 2010

This has become one of my fav climbs, its high 12,210ft, its steep and feels very remote

The west side of Mt Adams, showing lots more snow than the previous year

A closer look at our objective, with more snow, we were able to climb a direct line off the toe of the glacier

As always a nice alpine start, an instructor once told me that headlamps for for the morning not the evening, ie start your climb early enough to be back before dark. A simple statement that has shaped a lot of my climbing

Wonderful climbing to get onto the glacial rib

We have come a lot way from camp and its still early. Sign of a previous big slide litter the base

Heather climbing into the zone

Looking down at the crevasse field

Nearing the flat spot where we might be able to grab a snack and some water

A BIG crevasse that we need to cross

We were able to bypass this monster by climbing to the right.

Dawn light moving in from the east

Some of the ice seracs that need to be bypassed

The summit still looks like a long way to go but it looks warm up there

Looking towards the North ridge

Getting a little closer, Heather did learn to CJ (crevasse jump) on this trip!! Last year the climb moved through this crevasse on the left towards the North ridge col.  This year we were able to climb to the right and take a more direct line

 

Summit, its 12,210ft and windy

View from the North ridge , looking back at the summit

Looking at the North ridge descent route, this year we were able to access the NW face at 10,600ft to avoid the rock traverse

 

 

 

Smith Rock

Smith Rock is located in high desert, central Oregon and is the perfect place to be when it is snowing in the mountains, (or raining in Portland)

Dan traversing pitch 4 on Kiss of the Leper butress

Jane on her traverse

 

A good climb to start the day

Cinnamon Slabs

 

 

Mt Hood Luetholds Couloir

This is a classic one day climb on the west side of the mountain. Its darker and colder on this side which of course can sometimes be a good thing. Its always a clear moment when the sun is rising in the east and is starting to rise over Wyeast and then we descend past Illumination Saddle into the darkness.

Inside the coouloir, taking a rest while I lead out.

View at the summit rim, looking down at the Southside at the climbers on the Hogsback

Summit rim traverse, always fun and makes you feel like you are somewhere in the Nepal