May 1, 2005, Mt Hood - South side
5/1/05
OR Mt Hood
2463
1
Nate and I drove down to Mt Hood on Saturday afternoon in the hopes of climbing/skiing the South Side (dog route) on Mt Hood on Sunday.
Set out at 5am Sunday morning; followed the cattle-path the entire way under clear skis and calm winds. Managed to keep the skins on until just below Crater Rock when it became just a bit too icy. Ditched the skis at the Hogsback and headed up the Pearly Gates in a white-out. Summitted at 10am in a thick cloud but managed to catch a few glimpses of Rainier and Adams. :)
Back at the Hogsback, the weather was looking less than perfect. The original plan was to nap in the sun and wait for the snow to corn-up. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating with clouds and a wind developing, so we opted to put the skis on and start down. The first 1000 ft off the Hogsback were ICY and CRUDDY. I took a nice digger and have the bruises to prove it. :o
Just below Crater Rock, we decided to have lunch and wait for the snow to soften. After sitting around in the white-out for 30 minutes, we got a bit bored so started down. We timed it pretty well and had decent corn the rest of the ski down the south side. Dropped in the groomers for the lower-slushy stuff. Back at the car for beers by noon.
All-in-all...a perfect day! :)
--Q (aka Kirsten)
Final push to the Summit
Skiing down the South Side
Set out at 5am Sunday morning; followed the cattle-path the entire way under clear skis and calm winds. Managed to keep the skins on until just below Crater Rock when it became just a bit too icy. Ditched the skis at the Hogsback and headed up the Pearly Gates in a white-out. Summitted at 10am in a thick cloud but managed to catch a few glimpses of Rainier and Adams. :)
Back at the Hogsback, the weather was looking less than perfect. The original plan was to nap in the sun and wait for the snow to corn-up. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating with clouds and a wind developing, so we opted to put the skis on and start down. The first 1000 ft off the Hogsback were ICY and CRUDDY. I took a nice digger and have the bruises to prove it. :o
Just below Crater Rock, we decided to have lunch and wait for the snow to soften. After sitting around in the white-out for 30 minutes, we got a bit bored so started down. We timed it pretty well and had decent corn the rest of the ski down the south side. Dropped in the groomers for the lower-slushy stuff. Back at the car for beers by noon.
All-in-all...a perfect day! :)
--Q (aka Kirsten)
Final push to the Summit
Skiing down the South Side
Nice report and pictures from Hood. Ann and I skinned up to a bit below Crater Rock and didn't wait long enough for a window of good visibility to descend. By the time we were finishing our run the sun decided to make a short appearance on the Zig Zag.
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