The Timberline Lodge operated the ski resort on Palmer Glacier on the southern slope of Mt. Hood. We would hike today from the Timberline Lodge at just shy of 6,000' to the upper limit of the non-backcountry area around 8,500'. With the temperature expected to approach the 60s even at this elevation, we anicipated the snow to be loose and slushy so it was a good thing that we were carrying snowshoes with us. There were some avalanche concerns in the backcountry area because of the new snow falls in the preceding days followed by the warm weather today however it was determined not to be a concern of ours as we were remaining in the ski resort area where the snow had been meticulously groomed.
As usual, we all met up in the parking lot of a grocery store nearby and went through the usual rituals of getting briefed by our training hike supervisor, Joe, and splitting into three groups, the fast group, the medium group, and the "endurance" group. Because of the weight I would be carrying today, I was tempted to join the "endurance" group but I decided against it and stuck with the medium group led by Matt, Leisa and Joe. Altogether we started with 13 people in the medium group.
I always enjoyed the picturesque drive on the Hwy 26 looking at a windshield full of Mt. Hood. Sometimes, I had to try consciously not to get distracted and thus not to become another source of crater on its slope actually. Charles, the climber with whom I shared the ride, no doubt appreciated that. In today's amazingly clear air, the mountain looked even closer than it actually was. There was not even a spec of puffy clouds anywhere or standing lenticular clouds that would indicate strong wind aloft. I couldn't wait to get on the mountain!!!!
Once we strapped our gears onto ourselves, we gathered in front of the climber registration at the lodge. You'd be required to register and get a permit for your climbing party if you were to venture into the backcountry area. It wouldn't cost anything to do this but this was so that the rescue folks would have some sort of idea who and how many people were up there in case some unfortunate things happened. (Not to mention how many permanent bivy sacks they'd need to bring with them...)
Now we were ready to go out there. But as soon as we set our feet on the snow, it was pretty apparent that we'd need to put on our snowshoes right away. The snow was as soft as Seven Eleven's Slurpee. Without my snowshoes, I would have definitely kept sinking into it on every step I took with this heavy pack on my back and all.
This was also a good chance for me to try out the "heel lifters" that came with my snowshoes. They were metal bars that flipped up underneath my heels to give my heels few inches of lifts. The idea was that, by having the angles of my feet relative to the snow slope somewhat flatter, the climbing will be more like going up stairs than walking up a steep slope thus keeping my calves happier. And it worked!! In fact, it worked fantastically well. I was totally sold on this little feature.
Anyway, the familiar slog commenced. The first 10 minutes was always the roughest until my heart revved up to speed. From there on, it was still tough but manageable. I just settled into a nice constant rhythm of rest stepping - putting one foot in front of the other, transferring my weight on it, and locking the knee for a brief moment, over and over.
The "trail", if you could call it that, paralleled the skiing and snowboarding area all the way up the slope. It was more of an alley for the snowcats to travel up and down on than a trail actually. Next to the trail, there was a bunny slope as well as jump platforms for freestylers in addition to groomed slopes. It was nice distraction from otherwise the monotonous climbing task watching the skiers and the snowboarders launch into the air. Now, I didn't know a lot about freestyling but it's probably safe for me to guess that the old saying, "take off is optional, landing is mandatory", applied in this situation as well.
As you can see from the pictures of us at our gear check, we were quick to take off any extra layers we started in. Because the snow reflected 80% of the sun light, which was twice as strong at this elevation as at the sea level to begin with, the glacier had instantly turned into a broiler in this windless air that cooked us relentlessly, not only from above but also from directly below us. It was not too long before the mixture of sweat and sunscreen started pouring down my face, rendering the sun glasses useless and stinging my eyes in the process. (Note to myself - use a bandanna from now on!)
One different thing about climbing mountains from hiking is that, more often than not, you would be able to see where you were headed for the entire time you were climbing. Especially in good weather like this obviously. And it was very difficult to guage the distance. Here we were on Mt. Hood, everything looked so much closer than it appeared in the vastness of Palmer Glacier with gigantic Mt. Hood's headwalls looming right above us.
Then we popped out onto a small col only several hundred feet below the top of Palmer through which the wind accelerated owing to the venturi effect. All that body heat we could not seem to get rid of fast enough up until now was suddenly valuable commodity. However, that did not last very long as we soon reached our today's destination, the top of Palmer.
We hurriedly put on our jackets back on before we got chilled to our bones once we stopped. Then it was a reward time! Sitting against the snow at the backcountry boarder, we chewed on the lunch of our choices together for the last time enjoying the southern view from the 8,500' elevation. In this seemingly unlimited visibility, the mountain ranges of the central Oregon was clearly visible from here, with Mt. Jefferson being the most prominent in the foreground, and Sisters and Broken Tops defining the ruggedness of the Cascade Range.
At this elevation where the temperature was low enough for the snow to remain somewhat firmer, we started plunge stepping down rather than putting our snowshoeing. We also saw other climbers glisadeing down which was probably the next best thing to skiing down. Although we were no longer subjected to the strenuousness of climbing, it still was difficult to proceed because of the unstable snow condition. But who cares about that when you're having fun with cool people like us!! Ha!
So now that we've done our final training hike, what happens now? Like I mentioned earlier, the big weekend for the Mt. Hood climbers are coming up at the end of this month. After that, I am looking forward to joining them at our celebration party where we will be letting loose!
But in the mean time, we the Mt. Adams climbers will continue to have our training hikes, at least three of them, through the end of July. This weekend, we will revisit Nesmith Point, followed by a hike from the Timberline Lodge (5,800') to the Crater Rock (10,000') on Mt. Hood. At some point in July, we will have another overnight training event somewhere on Mt. Hood. Also, a group of us are going to climb Mt. St. Helens few days after the Independence Day as well (non-RTS).
The "trail", if you could call it that, paralleled the skiing and snowboarding area all the way up the slope. It was more of an alley for the snowcats to travel up and down on than a trail actually. Next to the trail, there was a bunny slope as well as jump platforms for freestylers in addition to groomed slopes. It was nice distraction from otherwise the monotonous climbing task watching the skiers and the snowboarders launch into the air. Now, I didn't know a lot about freestyling but it's probably safe for me to guess that the old saying, "take off is optional, landing is mandatory", applied in this situation as well.
As you can see from the pictures of us at our gear check, we were quick to take off any extra layers we started in. Because the snow reflected 80% of the sun light, which was twice as strong at this elevation as at the sea level to begin with, the glacier had instantly turned into a broiler in this windless air that cooked us relentlessly, not only from above but also from directly below us. It was not too long before the mixture of sweat and sunscreen started pouring down my face, rendering the sun glasses useless and stinging my eyes in the process. (Note to myself - use a bandanna from now on!)
One different thing about climbing mountains from hiking is that, more often than not, you would be able to see where you were headed for the entire time you were climbing. Especially in good weather like this obviously. And it was very difficult to guage the distance. Here we were on Mt. Hood, everything looked so much closer than it appeared in the vastness of Palmer Glacier with gigantic Mt. Hood's headwalls looming right above us.
Then we popped out onto a small col only several hundred feet below the top of Palmer through which the wind accelerated owing to the venturi effect. All that body heat we could not seem to get rid of fast enough up until now was suddenly valuable commodity. However, that did not last very long as we soon reached our today's destination, the top of Palmer.
We hurriedly put on our jackets back on before we got chilled to our bones once we stopped. Then it was a reward time! Sitting against the snow at the backcountry boarder, we chewed on the lunch of our choices together for the last time enjoying the southern view from the 8,500' elevation. In this seemingly unlimited visibility, the mountain ranges of the central Oregon was clearly visible from here, with Mt. Jefferson being the most prominent in the foreground, and Sisters and Broken Tops defining the ruggedness of the Cascade Range.
So now that we've done our final training hike, what happens now? Like I mentioned earlier, the big weekend for the Mt. Hood climbers are coming up at the end of this month. After that, I am looking forward to joining them at our celebration party where we will be letting loose!
But in the mean time, we the Mt. Adams climbers will continue to have our training hikes, at least three of them, through the end of July. This weekend, we will revisit Nesmith Point, followed by a hike from the Timberline Lodge (5,800') to the Crater Rock (10,000') on Mt. Hood. At some point in July, we will have another overnight training event somewhere on Mt. Hood. Also, a group of us are going to climb Mt. St. Helens few days after the Independence Day as well (non-RTS).
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