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 climbing mount hood - wy'east route june 23, 2002 sorry, but this page will load very slowly on dial-up!
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click photo to enlarge The team: Nick, Sarah, Maria, Iain and Mike click photo to enlarge  Matt poses in front of White River Glacier and Mt Jeff click photo to enlarge  Maria contemplates life on the way to Steel Cliffs click photo to enlarge  The rope teams traverse around Steel Cliffs click photo to enlarge  Mount Jefferson looms large in the distance click photo to enlarge  Iain takes a power nap near 10,000 feet click photo to enlarge  The climbers traverse over to The Chimney click photo to enlarge  Mike starts up the steep pitch through the couloir click photo to enlarge  Massive Mount Adams towers to the North |
The Mountain: Mount Hood is one of the most climbed mountains in the world. Though the South Side "standard" route is relatively non-technical, the real reason for the frequency of climbs is the mountain's proximity to Portland, Oregon and the accessibility of Mount Hood's Timberline Lodge. During 6 to 8 months of the year, people can drive to the 6,000-foot mark on the mountain and make a round trip of the summit in one day. All it takes is the proper equipment and mountaineering skills, along with good physical conditioning. These qualities make the mountain a great recreation destination, but they also create a kind of traffic jam on the standard route - especially on weekends. To avoid these frustrating situations, and to provide more challenges, experienced mountaineers often take to the more difficult routes. On June 23, 2002, I joined five of my friends from Portland Mountain Rescue to climb a moderately difficult climb known as the Wy'East route. It turned out to be an epic... The Route: The Wy'East Route generally starts at Timberline Lodge or over at Mount Hood Meadows. When leaving from Timberline, climbers follow the standard route up to near 7,000 feet and then turns right to head over the White River Glacier. Traveling at night, it can be treacherous to cross a glacier, but experienced climbers can navigate without too many problems. After clearing the glacier, the route heads straight up toward the Steel Cliffs, the large rock formation on the East side of the mountain's crater. From there, climbers traverse around the base of the Steel Cliffs to the East face of the mountain - known as the "Wy'East" face. View the climbing route! Near 8,200 feet, the route becomes steep heading up to the top of the East crater rim and then traverses across to a very rocky area near The Chimney. Climbers must traverse over some treacherous rock ledges to get to the proper couloir heading up to the Summit. After climbing (crawling?) up the 50-55 degree slope out of the couloir, the route becomes moderate and snakes up to the East portion of the 11,239-foot Summit. The Climb: Our team (Nick, Sarah, Iain, Mike, Maria and myself) got a bit of a late start - just before 1:00 am - and headed up the standard route to near Silcox Hut. We had some difficulty finding the proper path down to the White River Glacier and that delayed our trip quite a bit. We carefully crossed the glacier in the inky darkness, winding our ways over the solid ice and not-so-solid snow bridges over the crevasses. All in all, it wasn't too bad. We headed up the pitch on the East side of the glacier and took a quick break before moving up to the base of Steel Cliffs. As the sun began to break through the early morning clouds, we traversed around the massive rock formation. We should have been here well before sunrise, but we were at least 1-1/2 hours late. With the appearance of the sun, the rock fall began to start, but it was not too bad. The temperature rose quickly and the snow began to get soft. As we "postholed" our way up another steep pitch, we reached the point of no return. We had to go forward - no matter how late we were. After taking a break on the top of the Steel Cliffs, we traversed along the East crater rim to the area known as The Chimney. Here was the point where we had to decide upon our route to the Summit. The first couloir (chute) was judged to be an avalanche hazard, so we traversed along two tricky rock ledges to get to another couloir. With the Newton-Clark Glacier looming 2,500 feet below us, we determined that we were going to have trouble getting up this couloir. However, we saw no better option, so Nick Pope solo climbed up the couloir and setup a fixed line for the rest of the team to use. Nick had to climb an 8-foot waterfall without protection and then affix the rope to a group of boulders above the waterfall. After what seemed to be hours, our team began moving up the fixed line one by one. Each person dislodged rocks, so it was definitely a good idea to solo climb the couloir. Simul-climbing would have sucked. I got to go last and had to police the rope as I made my way up the steep pitch. The waterfall felt nice, as it was quite hot on that portion of the mountain, but it was difficult to climb with crampons on my boots. After making it out of the couloir, we literally crawled up the 50-55 degree slope that headed up toward the Summit. The snow was extremely soft and it was hard to get good purchase with my ice axe, but everyone made it. The final few hundred yards to the Summit were actually easy, but I found myself quite dehydrated by that point. The heat and long hours of waiting in the sun had drained my energy greatly, so the Summit was more of a triumph than usual! It was very wind and quite cold up there, as a strange weather pattern was over the mountain. The wind whipped up and over the Summit, though there were no clouds actually over the peak. Everything was around the mountain instead, which I found strange. Luckily, there was a snow cave dug into the Summit and we gathered there to escape the wind and prepare for the descent. After some food and an energy drink, I felt ready to get the heck out of the cold wind. The team descended the standard route through the Pearly Gates and down the Hogsback. The snow was extremely soft and it was quite nerve racking for a time. After making it down the Hogsback, we ran into my friends Lee, Cindy and Bill, who were out for a Sunday work out. We warned them to not go higher than the Bergschrund crevasse and continued down the mountain. My friend Maria and I practically ran down the mountain, which was tough for me, as I was postholing very badly. Several hours and a pleasant conversation later, we hit Timberline Lodge -- a full 14 hours after we left the night before. Whew! That was a true epic. Everyone made it safely, so it was successful, but we all agreed that a late June climb of Wy'East would not be in the future for anyone. :) -- Matt |
click photo to enlarge The Central Oregon Cascades at dawn click photo to enlarge  White River Glacier and a sea of clouds click photo to enlarge  The Steel Cliffs tower over the route click photo to enlarge  The team climbs up the steep pitch to the Cliffs click photo to enlarge  Nick and Sarah take a break with a scenic view click photo to enlarge  A funky weather pattern envelopes the mountain click photo to enlarge  A very cool view of the Hogsback from the East click photo to enlarge  The final few hundred yards to the Summit click photo to enlarge  Matt poses on the cold Summit after a long climb |