Showing posts with label Mt Hood South Side. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mt Hood South Side. Show all posts

Mt Hood, South Side, June 2-3, 2012

The June 2-3, 2012 climb of Mt hood has been cancelled. 

Personal Gear (See List #4)

Group Gear: We will have a stove and fuel, a sleeping bag and bivy sack (1 set for for emergency), SPOT beacon, cell phone, GPS with route on it, 1 60'm rope, 5 pickets, wands (each flag marked "MWN") 1 shovel and first aid kit.

Tenative Climb Schedule:
June 2nd- Drive to Timberline Lodge, nap in parking lot, alpine start.
  • 1:30 pm- Meet in Silverton/Salem for carpooling (location TBD). Check individual and group gear.
  • 2:00 pm leave for Mt hood.
  • 3:30 pm stop in Government camp (or somewhere along the way) to get something to eat.
  • 4:45 pm or so - arrive at Timberline lodge parking lot, pick up permits and blue bags, maybe do a quick review of passing through pickets.
  • 5:30 pm or so- rest in the overnight area.

Monday, June 3rd, Summit Day
  • 11:00 pm- Wake up time (This is where climbing seems like a really stupid sport.)
  • 11:30 pm, Head up the climbers trail east of the ski area.
  • Approximately 2:15 am arrive at top of Palmer about 8,500' (Probably put crampons on here if not sooner)
  • 5:00 am at hogsback area, rope up
  • 6:15 Summit via old chute route (Wow climbing is great.)
  • 7:30 Arrive back at hogsback and get out of harnesses and ropes. long break.
  • 7:45 Descend,
  • 9:00 regrouping at top of Palmer climbers trail
  • 10:30 or so arrive back at Timberline parking lot. Clean up.
  • 11:15 lunch/breakfast in Government camp .
  • 12:15 head home
  • 2:15 back in Silverton/Salem area.
Weather

Route:

Here are links to similar, recent Mt Hood south side Climbs:

Mt Hood Snow Skills Clinic, May 5, 2012

On Saturday May 5th, 2012 I'll be coordinating a Snow Skills Clinic on Mt Hood along with Bryon Snapp. This is an opportunity for climbers of all levels to test and improve their fitness and add to their snow climbing skills. Depending on the group’s experience and the snow conditions these skills may include: use of the ice axe on steep snow; crampon technique; "hanging" belays, building and belaying off of snow anchors; Intro to avalanche assessment (e.g., snow pits); or z-pulley (rescue). Since this is a training exercise and we are not venturing too far off the Palmer snowfield this trip will still go in less than perfect weather. (I'll post a no-go notice to this website if weather is truly awful.)  Note that Bryon Snapp will also be linking this with a summit climb on -Mt Hood.  
Equipment:
We will be getting into steep snow conditions for this outing. Ice axe, harness, helmet and crampons (fitted to your boots ahead of time) are required. Crampoon compatible boots and gators. Sunglasses are mandatory.  I recommend that you pack as you would for a Mt Hood Climb. this will be a good chance to test your gear and food/water options out.  Prussik cords and pulleys will be helpful if you have them.  Please have your gear together and be prepared to carry some group gear (ropes, shovels, etc.) Its best to have a larger pack and have some external straps for lasing down a rope and strapping on an ice axe (i.e., don't come with a small textbook type daypack.  I've got nothing against Care Bears but their equipment line rarely includes ice axe loops.)  We will be getting into the snow so a waterproof outer shell layer is important and an extra set of gloves to swap out when your first pair gets wet.See Gear List #4. (Don't buy expensive gear. Borrow it from other climbers or rent from REI. ) Bring plenty of water (at least 2-3 liters) and food as we won't be returning to the cars during the day.

Location
We will be somewhere along the south side climbing route and on East edge of the Palmer snowfield...where ever we can find some steep, suitable terrain.

Schedule
We will have carpools leaving from Silverton and Salem on Saturday morning May 5th at 6:30 am.  Email Mike Niemeyer if you want to join the Silverton carpool.  The Salem carpool will meet at the Salem State Motorpool parking lot on airport road.

We will assemble at the end of the "climbers" parking lot (below the main lot and the same place we park for climb school) at 8:30 am, distribute and load up pickets and ropes and head out.  Please have your gear organized ahead of time so we can push off quickly while snow conditions are still firm.  If you have a FRS radio (i.e. motorola family band) please bring it.  We will be using Channel 10 Code 5.

This will be a full day activity.  I expect we will be wrapping up and back to the Timberline parking lot about 3 pm or so.

Roster (Note - if you asked to be in this class but don't show up on the roster shoot ne an email as it was likely an error)
  1. Mike Niemeyer (leader)
  2. Bryon Snapp (Leader)
  3. Mike Rudy (leader)
  4. Cathy Lazarus
  5. Stephen Rockford
  6. Justin Clark
  7. David Braun
  8. Mike Pennington
  9. Courtney Carlson
  10. Seth Lucas
  11. Mason Smith
  12. Brett Milliken
  13. Jason Kabbes
  14. Megan Hogland
  15. Mark Olson
  16. Jack Myrtue
  17. Bud Littleton -(Will drive from Salem motorpool, has room for 4 plus gear)
  18. Mike Buren
  19. Amanda Gaylord




Mt Hood South Side, May 23-24, 2010

May 23-24, 2010 I led a "State employees" climb of Mt. Hood via the South Side Route. Post-holing up to the hogsback put us behind schedule and I made the call to turn around as the sun was hitting the upper slopes above us.  Great team.  Everyone took a turn plowing through the loose snow.
Pre-climb Prospectus below

Schedule:
Sunday
8:00 am Carpool (Mike and Guy) for Mazama lodge. (Tom and Paul leave from Portland)
10:15 am check into Mazama Lodge
11:30 am  practice skills on slope behind Lodge (or other suitable locaton)
2:00 pm or so - Done with skills practice. Organize gear and Rest
11:30 pm leave lodge to Timberline.
Midnight - Meet at the Climbers register packed and ready to move out.

Monday
6 am or so - Summit
9:30 am - Return to Timberline parking lot
10:30 am - return to Mazama Lodge for showers,
12:00 - Head back to Salem
3:00 pm or so - arrive back at Salem State motorpool

Lodging:
You will need to make your own arrangements to stay at the Mazama Lodge.   Mazamas do accept online reservations but I recommend waiting. The dorm rooms usually have space available and if we need to cancel due to weather you won't be stuck with a fee. You’ll need a duffel bag that you can carry into the lodge (short hike but can be icy) with your sleeping bag, extra socks (they don’t allow shoes upstairs in the lodge) ear plugs (dorm style sleeping) towel and toiletries. You will also need a cheap pair of rain pants for our self-arrest practice (We don’t want to be climbing that night in wet gear.) The lodge offers meals but recommend you bring some snacks and a sandwich in case their meal times don’t fit with our schedule.


Route:
Leader will supply 5 pickets, 1 shovel and one rope for distribution among the team. Leader will also carry light bivy sack, sleeping bag and first aid kit and FMRS radios (Channel 10 code 5) and SPOT rescue beacon.

Roster:Mike Niemeyer (leader)
Guy Rodrigue
Tom Balmer
Paul Balmer

Recent Hood Climb reports:

Mt Hood South Side Route June 26-27, 2010

June 26-27, 2010, we had a succesful Chemeketan summit of 11,249 ft Mt. Hood via the South Side Route- old chute.  Note the exceptional summit photo to the right. (Most team members recently took the Chemeketan Climb School advanced five-day summit photo clinic.  Other climb parties on the summit day could only stare and wonder. Shown here is Geoff demonstrating the "I'm a little tea pot" technique; Jate and Danni doing the "I'm being car-jacked take the vehicle and don't kill me" pose and Mike with "Welcome to the US, please pull over there while we look in your trunk.") 
     Our party of four enjoyed a beautiful full moon on the ascent and warm temps.   Clear skies made for solid snow - we put on crampons at about 8,000ft. The team was strong and we made the ascent in good time.  We weren't alone at the top.  The chief bottleneck was on the descent as we dropped off the summit into the old chute.  Those familiar with the old chute know that there a several options near the top.  The straight shot is steeper but less croweded on popular Spring days while the variation that veers East near the top lays back a bit and is an easier, and more popular, choice with a well established boot track.  All parties were getting to the old chute route by traversing low off the hogsback through the hot rocks area.  This makes for a safer and flatter traverse.  This weekend the high traverse off the Hogsback was not even an option as the upper slopes were covered with avy debri. A few teams were climbing via the pearly gates without apparent difficulty. The bergschrund has opened up quite a bit. 
The only incident was the leader's discovery that one team member had made the ascent with an Obsidian Club patch on her pack.  After a few tense moments it was agreed that she could continue but we wouldn't rescue her if she fell in a crevasse. 

Pre-climb prospectus below:.

Schedule:
Thursday Evening (approximate)
I'll be making our go or no-go decision based on latest weather and snow conditions.  Please check this page for updates.

Saturday
2:00 pm - Carpoolers leave Salem State Motor pool (on Airport road) and head for Mazama lodge.
4:00 pm check into Mazama Lodge - we will also likely need to move cars to Gov Camp parking area
5:00 pm or so - dinner at Mazama lodge and then we catch a few zz's
11:30 pm leave Mazama lodge for Timberline
Midnight - Meet at the Climbers register at midnight Saturday night (Please be prompt and come packed and ready to move out.) Pick up permits and blue bags. I will distribute group gear and we will be heading out as soon as possible.

Sunday
8:30 am or so - Summit (We actually got there about 7:15)
12:30 or so - Return to timberline parking lot (We actually got back at 10:25 am)
1:00 - return to Mazama lodge for showers
2:00- head back to Salem (or nap at lodge)
4;00 pm or so - arrive back at Salem State motorpool if driving straight back

Lodging:
You will need to make your own arrangements to stay at the Mazama Lodge.  They do accept online reservations but I recommend waiting.  The dorm rooms usually have space available and if we need to cancel due to weather you won't be stuck with a fee.  You’ll need a duffel bag that you can carry into the lodge (short hike but can be icy) with your sleeping bag, extra socks (they don’t allow shoes upstairs in the lodge) ear plugs (dorm style sleeping) towel and toiletries. The lodge offers meals but recommend you bring some snacks and a sandwich in case their meal times don’t fit with our schedule.  No food in dorm rooms.

Weather

Route:
See route map and GPS waypoints here.
Mt Hood S Side route compass tips here (Thanks to PMR)
PMR Mt Hood GPS
Track teams progess during the climb via this link

Gear:
See List #4
Leader will supply pickets and rope for distribution among the team. Leader will also carry small bivy sack and sleeping bag and first aid kit and FMRS radios (Channel 10 code 5) and SPOT rescue beacon.  

Roster:
  1. Mike Niemeyer (leader)
  2. Danni Harris
  3. Jate Rademaker
  4. Geoff Crook 
Recent Mt Hood Reports:
My Mt Hood climb of May 23
http://jessclimbing.blogspot.com/2010/04/hood-april-16.html
http://picasaweb.google.com/104469483779153526656/2010HoodClimb?authkey=Gv1sRgCK-1ur616oLWqAE&feat=email#

Mt Hood - Justice at Every Level 2009









Success! After innumerable weather delays we finally hit great conditions. Our Oregon Department of Justice "Justice at Every Level" team summited Mt Hood via the South-Side Old Chute Route on the morning of June 27th. It was a 12hr round trip (12:43 am to 12:45 pm the next day) Joe was feeling the effects of sleep deprevation and altitude and turned around at about 9'000 ft. We had very good conditions going up, clear sky, firm snow and almost no wind. Once to the hogsback area (10,500 ft) we watched a large group struggling up the old chute route - other climbers were trying to ascend around them. Other climbers said there was apparently 18 inexperienced climbers on one rope with one leader.

We roped up and ascended most of the slope in a good boot track protecting the team with pickets. About 1 pitch from the summit ridge the route split with most parties going right up a gully. This was a nice route as it avoided the exposed summit ridge but it was plugged up with climbers so we ascended the steeper slope directly above us using a high dagger technique. We arrived at the summmit, after the exposed summit ridge traverse, at about 8:00 am. We stayed at the summit about 30 minutes - great views, lots of smiles and no wind at all.

The descent was slow and cautious on the steep section punctuaed by occassionaly "ice" or "rock' calls from other teams. Ice and rockfall was not as bad as I've seen here before but still a concern. I was happy to get the team back to the hogsback and out of rockfall danger. We prepared for the long trudge to the cars.

Summit Team Members:
Julie Penry
Jack McDonald
Mark Williams
Mike Niemeyer
Joe McNaught (to 9,000ft)

( Keith Dubanevich, Doug Adair and Jesse Davis are also part of our mighty team but could not make this summit date due to scheduling conflicts.)

Trip Waypoints Parking lot to summit:

Latitude:45.3734Longitude:-121.6959Nearest Location:not knownDistance:not knownTime:06/27/2009 08:50:27 (US/Pacific)http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3734,-121.6959&ll=45.3734,-121.6959&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3727Longitude:-121.6981Nearest Location:not knownDistance:not knownTime:06/27/2009 07:46:12 (US/Pacific)http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3727,-121.6981&ll=45.3727,-121.6981&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3713Longitude:-121.6994Nearest Location:not knownDistance:not knownTime:06/27/2009 07:17:50 (US/Pacific)http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3713,-121.6994&ll=45.3713,-121.6994&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3682 Longitude:-121.6997 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/27/2009 06:11:11 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3682,-121.6997&ll=45.3682,-121.6997&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3604 Longitude:-121.703 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/27/2009 04:19:16 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3604,-121.703&ll=45.3604,-121.703&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3579 Longitude:-121.7019 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/27/2009 03:30:48 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3579,-121.7019&ll=45.3579,-121.7019&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3459 Longitude:-121.7048 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/27/2009 01:42:05 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3459,-121.7048&ll=45.3459,-121.7048&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1


Pre-trip planning information:
Photos below are from the Oregon Department of Justice "Justice at Every Level" Climb team training day on Sunday February 22nd. (Katie Niemeyer joined the team for this exercise)

Video:DOJ Lawyer Arrests Self (barely)





































Mt Hood Conditioning June 6, 2009


I headed up Mt Hood June 6, 2009 via the south side route for a conditioning hike to the hogsback at about 10,600ft. I left the climbers registration area about 8 am. The Old chute route has changed in the last few weeks. the bergschrund is wide open (See above). Climbers are now opting to traverse from the low point on the hogsback (see picture below) and then ascend directly up the old chute. below the hogsback snow was soft. the old chute was icy, giving those trying to ski from the summit some troubles.

Latitude:45.3306 Longitude:-121.7085 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/06/2009 15:03:02 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3306,-121.7085&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3448 Longitude:-121.7048 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/06/2009 14:29:19 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3448,-121.7048&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3579 Longitude:-121.702 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/06/2009 14:05:49 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3579,-121.702&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3708 Longitude:-121.6991 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/06/2009 13:11:47 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3708,-121.6991&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3691 Longitude:-121.7058 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/06/2009 12:39:55 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3691,-121.7058&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Latitude:45.3583 Longitude:-121.7016 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/06/2009 10:28:42 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3583,-121.7016&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Latitude:45.3456 Longitude:-121.7045 Nearest Location:not known Distance:not known Time:06/06/2009 09:12:36 (US/Pacific) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.3456,-121.7045&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Mt Hood Workout - January 21, 2008

Scott Kelley and Mike Niemeyer's trip Mt Hood was a bust. At the Timberline parking lot the car was being rocked around and it was very hard to stand up. Mt Hood weather station showed avg wind spead at 6,600ft of 47 and high of 76 mph with air temp of 1 degree at 9 am (thats a wind chill of -34.) We hiked around a bit to test gear and marvel at the futility of trying to function in those conditions. My test of the SPOT satellite device by sending some "check-in" messages to his blog seemed to work fine.

See same-day news video of snow blowing off Mt Hood http://www.katu.com/home/video/13951822.html?video=pop&t=a

Mt Hood, May 18, 2007

May 18th Climb cancelled due to weather (Keith Hill and I did a practice trip up above the Palmer, instead of the team summit bid, to practice some belay-swapping techniques on steep snow slopes. The poor conditions - low visibility, high winds and snow- confirmed our decision to bail on the team summit attempt.)
The original plan was : Keith Hill, provisional leader and Steve Dougherty with a Mt Hood South Side climb (via South Climbers Route/Hogs Back) Approximate vertical gain from trailhead to summit = 5235’ Climbers: Matt Betts, Lynn Kropf, Rebecca Tryon, Matthew Tryon, Ben Sigloh.

From Keith's prospectus: "The most popular route for climbing Mt Hood is the Palmer Glacier/South Side through the Pearly Gates via a snow ridge known as the Hogs Back. Over the past couple of years, the Hogs Back, with an incline of 40 to 45 degrees, has shifted to the west away from the Pearly Gates. This has resulted in a much steeper, icier incline with varying reports of up to 60 degrees. For this reason, I have selected a smaller group of climbers, to enable our group to move through this route more efficiently and increase our chances of a successful climb."

Group gear: (Keith will provide these to be distributed among the group) Snow shovel (1); Sleeping bag (1); Bivy sack (1); Snow Pickets (5); 50 meter ropes (2); Mountain Locater Unit (1)
Emergency Contact Information: 911 (Cell phone reception is generally available on the south side of Mount Hood) Jurisdiction of:Clackamas County Sheriffs Dept. Ph# 503-655-8218. Local contact: Linda Bedard - Home 503-297-7103; Mobile 503-989-9417.
GPS Waypoints (Parking lot to summit via Pearly Gates) NAD27 83

HOOD01PARK, 10 T 601159 5020467, 5966 ft
HOOD02SILC, 10 T 601106 5022029, 6932 ft
Hood03Palm, 10 T 601424 5023583, 8540 ft
Hood04devk, 10 T 601873 5024807, 10219 ft
hood05gogsb, 10 T 601886 5024974, 10495 ft
Hood06hog2, 10 T 601934 5025034,
hoodsumit, 10 T 602117 5025264, 11233 ft


Schedule:
Friday 5/18
3:00 PM - Meet at the State Motor Pool Park & Ride 1100 Airport Rd.
11:00 pm – Wake up and meet in the basement of the lodge.
11:30 pm – Depart for Timberline Lodge parking lot.
Saturday, May 19
12:00 am – Assemble in the climber’s registration area, WyEast Day Lodge.
12:30 am – begin climbing. (6000 ft)
08:00 am – approximate arrival time at summit (11, 235 ft)
01:00 pm – arrive back at Timberline Lodge
05:00 pm - approximate return time in Salem
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