Route Planning

"It is not the mountain we conquer, it is ourselves." ~ Sir Edmund Hilary

CLIMBING PLAN

Neither Brian, nor I, have any alpine climbing experience. Brian climbed Mount Borah a couple of summers ago during the middle of summer, but has not climbed in the steep snow that we will experience. Our plan is take the easy route on the South-side of the mountain also known as the Hogsback route.

The overall route is about 3 miles to the top, starting at Timberline Lodge (5,800ft.) The climbing route runs up alongside Palmer for about 2 miles (8,600ft.) At this point, it is a cutover to Crater Rock with an ascent to the bergshrund. From here, head up the snow chutes to the summit (11,249ft), taking the gully between the rock towers (Pearly Gates).

We are looking at a couple alternates if the icefall is too great for a hogsback approach.

UTM's for you GPS-heads.
UTM coordinates in NAD 27 CONUS datum for south side landmarks:
- Start of climbers path at Timberline 10 T 0601216 5020342.
- Silcox Hut 10 T 0601205 5020834.
- Midway Terminal on Palmer Lift 10 T 0601286 5022705.
- Top of Palmer Lift 10T 0601490 5023387.
- Triangle Moraine 10T 0601831 5024201.
- Devils Kitchen area at the start of the traverse leading to the Hogsback 10T 0601941 5024562.
- Hogsback 10T 0601970 5024771.

MISC

Brian and I are off to REI at lunch today to check out some climbing boots as well as equipment rental (crampons, ice axe, etc.)

Setting Forth

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." ~John Muir

As many of you know, I decided this last Fall that I would climb Mt. Hood this year. I have never done an alpine climb before and the only mountains I have 'sumitted' in my lifetime were done courtesy of a gondola dropping me off.

I have been asked quite a few times on why would I want to do this. The answer to this is several fold. First, if you have grown up in Portland, you live under this majestic mountain in your view everyday...okay, on the days it is not cloudy. As a child, I used to dream of climbing it. In my teens, "Wy'east" became my playground of skiing and sledding. I moved away from Oregon after college and haven't lived in Portland in some time now, but visit family often. I think any Oregon native feels the same way, that seeing Hood always gives you the feeling of coming home.

Secondly, this last Fall, Natalie and I experienced the loss of our baby girl, Abby, while we were in Portland. There are no words to describe this experience or how I felt during those days. The best way is to say that you physically just do the motions of life to get through your day, yet your mind is elsewhere. If one asked me to recall a specific event during those days immediately after, I could not. I have glimpses of things going around me, but the content of those glimpses are empty. There was a moment though where reality jumped back. I was driving alone, having just left the funeral home with Abby's cremated remains, when I turned the corner on to Powell Road. There was Hood, standing as she always has, staring at me. Immediately I knew that I was set to climb her.

My partner in this adventure is a co-worker of mine, Brian. Brian spends his time doing outdoor type activities including kayaking, rafting, hiking, rock-climbing, and camping. If I remember correctly, I sent him a picture of Hood in an email with a comment of 'Wanna climb this?' I believe he replied back within a few seconds with 'Yeah, I'm down. When?" Good guy.

Our projected ascent date is 30 days from today, May 21st. Quite a bit of preparation to do over the next few weeks.

-Jacobson