April 30, 2005, Mt. Hood South Side

Left the parking lot at 10:00am skinning up into a cloud on the side of Palmer. Snow was soft and saw no one else climbing. At the top of the Palmer chair, the sky cleared and it was gorgeous: no wind and warm. Booted up to the Hogsback and had a bite to eat while contemplating the climb to the summit. I decided that although I had no crampons, nor ice axe, the snow was soft enough to make a summit push feasible. I brought my skis up and I am glad that I did. Rather then skiing back down through the Pearly Gates, which were pretty chewed up and exposed to the bergschrund, I decided to traverse to the slope to the west of the Hogsback.

This was a little spicy due to the narrowness of the ridge. Made it to the top of the slope (I think this is called the Mazamas Route) just as a cloud rolled in. Jumping in was fun because the snow was soft and untracked. There was a bit of sloughing, but no major issues. Skied back down through the cloud in the soft snow. Very nice: pure butter. By the time I made it to the top of the Palmer chair, it was clear again. Floated back down to the truck by 5:00pm.

Was that the TAY crew out at the Silcox hut?