Possible Delay

got a mindfull of questions and a teacher in my soul...so it goes. ~"Guaranteed" E. Vedder

It appears that the weather is not going to cooperate with our summit attempt next week. This along with this rare spring avalanche warning does not bode well for the target date.

.AVALANCHE... INCREASINGLY WARM AND MOSTLY SUNNY DAYS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY SHOULD BE FOLLOWED BY RELATIVELY HIGH FREEZING LEVELS OVER THE WEEKEND WITH SOME HIGH CLOUDS ON SATURDAY AND A FEW SHOWERS ON SUNDAY. THIS WEATHER SHOULD PRODUCE AN INCREASINGLY WEAK AND WET SNOWPACK STRUCTURE AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND ON PREVIOUSLY MORE STABLE NORTH EXPOSURES... WITH INCREASING AVALANCHES LIKELY PRODUCING A SPRING SLIDE CYCLE DURING THE WARMING DAYS AHEAD. SOME RECENT WET LOOSE SLIDES ARE ALREADY ENTRAINING OR GOUGING INTO MUCH OF THIS SEASONS SNOWPACK ON SUN EXPOSED TERRAIN... AND THIS DESTABILIZING TREND SHOULD SPREAD TO HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND MORE SHADED SLOPES OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. SOME LARGE CORNICES DEVELOPED IN LATE APRIL AND EARLY MAY MAY ALSO FAIL DURING ANTICIPATED WARMING AND SUCH COLLAPSES MAY TRIGGER ISOLATED AND PERHAPS LARGE SLABS ON THE SLOPES BELOW. AS A RESULT OF THESE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS... A SPECIAL SPRING STATEMENT HAS BEEN ISSUED... AND BACK COUNTRY TRAVELERS SHOULD EXERCISE INCREASING CAUTION AND ADJUST PLANS AND ROUTES ACCORDINGLY.

We are still maintaining some hope and will make the final decision on Monday. Our second target date will be mid-June to go for the summit.

Preparation Update/Route Finalized

Always do what you are afraid to do.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

With a bit less than 2.5 weeks prior to the scheduled climb, Brian and I have been focused on finalizing our gear and route information. We have found a couple good resources of information on climb conditions this year from individuals that have made summit of Hood this year already. Other than some pretty strong wind conditions and falling ice, the summit trail appears better than it has in the past few years. If the weather can hold, we are on target for summitting on May 21st.

Gear List

• GPS
• LED Headlamp
• Whistle
• Extra non-cotton layers of clothes
• Food (few energy bars & 1 meal) & Water
• Matches
• Mylar blanket
• Small First Aid kit
• Helmet
• Crampons
• Ice Axe
• Climbing Harness
• Climbing Rope
• Climbing Boots
• Waterproof Outerwear
• Layered non-cotton clothes.
• Gaiters

ROUTE

We have also finalized our route and have GPS points. I found an elevation map as well as a plotted map of our ascent route. We are also working on getting a Spot Tracker so that family and friends can track our progress.

Old Chute Waypoints

1, HOOD01PARK, 10 T 601159 5020467, 5966 ft
2, HOOD02SILC, 10 T 601106 5022029, 6932 ft
3, Hood03Palm, 10 T 601424 5023583, 8540 ft
4, Hood04devk, 10 T 601873 5024807, 10219 ft
5, hood05gogsb, 10 T 601886 5024974, 10495 ft
6, hog2, 10 T 601934 5025034,
7, OC10663, 10 T 601951 5025070, 10663 ft
8, OC4, 10 T 601919 5025176,
8, Old chute 3, 10 T 601937 5025135,
9, OC6, 10 T 601922 5025235,
10, OC7, 10 T 601954 5025280,
11, Rdge1, 10 T 601987 5025289,
12, rdge2, 10 T 602015 5025274,
13, rdge3, 10 T 602064 5025277,
14, hood06sum, 10 T 602117 5025264, 11233 ft

Elevation Map of South Side Ascent




GPS Map of Ascent Route