ascending mount hood

The last two days I spent with Mount Hood. My dad, brother, and uncle hoped to find this a favorable opportunity to arrive on the summit of this volcano, even though the climbing season is over. This peak in the Northern Oregon Cascades "rises 11,249 ft (3,429 meters) and is home to twelve glaciers. It is the highest mountain in Oregon and the fourth-highest in the Cascade Range. Mount Hood is considered the Oregon volcano most likely to erupt, though based on its history, an explosive eruption is unlikely. Still, the odds of an eruption in the next 30 years are estimated at between 3 and 7 percent, so the USGS characterizes it as "potentially active." The mountain is sometimes informally described as "dormant." (from Wikipedia)

We began our ascent around 2pm; just barely making the last chairlift to our starting point. This mountain is also boasts the only year-round ski area in North America. As backpackers we were only allowed to take the first lift and we hiked past snowboarders and skiers finishing their day on the slopes. After the slopes close, a rigorous and aggressive campaign begins to refurbish and rebuild the slopes for the next day.

Our hiking entailed a good deal of tromping through dirt and boulders. This is difficult, particularly in climbing boots, but we slowly inched our way up the side of the mountain.

My first inclination about the terrain we negotiated was how similar it is to McMurdo Station; plenty of volcanic rock and ash covered in places by snowfields and glaciers. The stunning part was watching the birds, small bugs and butterflies surround us; even so far above the tree line. We also saw sporadic alpine flowers along the way.

A few hours of upward movement brought us to our camp for the evening. We cooked a bit of food and boiled a bit of water, but lost a fuel bottle which set us back in terms of the water we would need the next day.

The winds picked up during the night and created a loud sleep environment. The temperature dropped below freezing, but I stayed plenty warm (even hot) during the night. Beneath us were lights from the ski resort and to the west, a glow of lights from Portland. The stars decorated the sky in amazing numbers!