Mt Hood Climb - South Route

The team of 10 SAC climbers arrived at Timberline on this early June day to discover winter-like conditions. Temps were in the low 30s, winds were up to 20-30 mph and there were 4 inches of new snow outside of the climbers cave. The team knew a summit push was unlikely, but decided a push to the top of Palmer with possibly more would be an exciting, dare I say, enjoyable endeavor. They set off into the wind and snow around 12:30 am, inching up the mountain. Visibility was low and tracks were obscured by falling and blowing snow. They managed to stay on the general route and make it to Silcox by 1:30 am. At Silcox, they were greeting by the sound of "Jessie's Girl" blaring over the speakers from the inside. After a short snack and a necessary dance party, the crew set off again into the night. As they slogged on, the winds seemed to grow stronger and the snow continued to blow. Upon reaching 7600 feet after a short snack break, the team noted, "what the hell are we doing?!?" The decision was made to turn back around 3 am as the climbers were cold and conditions were unrelenting. The team turned around and headed back toward the distant light of the lodge arriving safely around 4 am. All climbers safe and some type 2 fun in to books.