SACsters,
Here's a trip report from last Sunday morning's successful summit of Mt. Hood via the Mazama variation of the standard south side route.
SACsters Doug Adair, Mark Williams, and Kipp Bajaj started from Timberline ca. 2:30 am and made good time to above the Palmer snowfield, under a starry sky, and favorable snow conditions. Doug was still recovering from a recent cold, and feeling the burden of that, along with some sleep deprivation, decided to turn back in the vacinity of Crater Rock (ca. 10,200'), leaving Mark and Kipp to carry on. Doug's descent, we were later told, was leisurely and by way of Illumination Saddle, where he paused to snap several photos.
From the Crater, Mark and Kipp gained the Hogsback, and traveresed over to the Mazama variation of the standard route. Our ascent was straight forward and uncomplicated. We had a fairly stable boot track to follow. We then ascended the 'old chute', taking time to let other teams descend, and eventually topped out onto the summit, awash with the warmth of the morning sunshine at ca. 7:30 am. There was virtually no wind at the time.
After a break of ~25 minutes we descended back to Timberline, where we found Doug crashed and sleeping in the Wy'East lodge. Photos by Mark and Kipp.
NOTE: Our trip, last weekend was partially exploratory. The upper portions of the standard and Mazama variation routes are still quite steep, and in my opinion, are presently not suited for a first-time, beginners climb. Hopefully these routes will moderate over the next several weeks.
Kipp
Photos
