Mt Hood Trip Report Posted
Tuesday July 12th, 2016 I stood on the summit of Mount Hood, the state highpoint of Oregon. This was #44 out of 50 for me. This was a hard won summit, with my first attempt ending in failure after being turned back 700′ from the summit due to weather. The second attempt was also not without its challenges, so when I finally did make it, it felt like I had really accomplished something.
Hood has a reputation for nastiness, and has killed over 130 people. It’s one of the higher death tolls for US mountains. Even so, I was still surprised the intensity and variety of her wrath. Why is Hood a female? Because a male mountain doesn’t really care if you climb him or not, he’s indifferent. But a female mountain will fight you all the way to the top. And fight she did, throwing freezing rainstorms, icy winds, whiteouts, avalanches, hailstorms and even a fall for good measure.
As I mentioned, it took two attempts to bag this one, and the stories are tightly linked, so I have combined them both into this one trip report.
Highpoint Statistics:
Summit Date: Tuesday July 12th, 2016
State: Oregon
Summit Elevation: 11,249′
Trailhead Elevation: 5,860′
Elevation Gain: 5,389′
US Rank by Height: 13th
Round Trip Hiking Time: 13 Hours
Highpoint Links:
Trip Report – You will see larger photos here.
Posts
Photo Gallery #1
Photo Gallery #2
GPS Track #1
GPS Track #2
To view a sortable table of all of the highpoints with completion dates, trip reports, photo galleries, blog entries an GPS tracks, visit the US State Highpoint Progress Page.
About the Mountain
Mount Hood, was called “Wy’East” by the American Indians who once inhabited the area. Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano located only 50 miles east of Portland. Steam is constantly spewing from fumarole areas and sulfuric gases are a hazard for climbers. Eleven glaciers grace Mt. Hood’s peak and the Timberline Ski Lodge is situated at the base of the mountain. At 11,249 feet, it is Oregon’s highest mountain as well as being one of the most visually impressive mountains in the nation based on its geographical prominence.