Mt. Hood Beta

[Fisching]

Anyone seen or know of a good website with Mt. Hood beta?
I'm targeting next Saturday, thanks to a work trip that has me in the area.

[Bombay2Boulder]

Oregon Hikers group on facebook. Alltrails otherwise .

[Ptglhs]

For what it's worth, I was supposed to go up to 13th but the group I was organizing with decided to cancel any subsequent climbs for the remainder of the year due to rotten snow and ice conditions

[nyker]

Try Cascade Climbers
But I'd give Timberline Guides a call for the most recent conditions. They may have stopped climbing for the year.
Can also check here:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mthood/c ... EV3_036629

Also, see webcams below (at least tomorrow in daylight), not a lot of snow left.
https://www.timberlinelodge.com/conditions

[jeffmpls]

I climbed Hood on May 19th and the conditions were wonderful, but as others have pointed out, I believe later in season the snow becomes too soft to safely climb.

[Fisching]

I've been surprised finding info has been so difficult, especially when compared to the UT highpoint I did a few weeks ago.

[Scott P]

I've been surprised finding info has been so difficult, especially when compared to the UT highpoint I did a few weeks ago.

It's because the sane season for Hood is over. Everyone who has been there recently or who has tried going recently says the same thing.

Screenshot_20230709_180850_Facebook.jpg

Screenshot_20230709_180859_Facebook.jpg

Screenshot_20230709_181452_Chrome.jpg

SAR says the season is over. The guides say the season is over. The Forest Service Climbing Rangers are telling people the season is over and to wait until next year.

I'm not sure what more info could be useful. Only a fool would climb it now.

[dr_j]

There were a couple of early heat waves in the PNW this year, in late April and in May, that likely contributed to a rather early end of season on Hood. But Rainier and Adams seem to be prime right about now. The top section of Hood is no joke, it's pretty steep and without the snow holding everything together, it's a bowling alley. One of the guides said that you fall off of Hood, and that you fall into Rainier, which highlights the very different objective hazards.

[curt86iroc]

oh, you can fall into hood...people fall into fumaroles every year..

[Fisching]

Thanks, Scott for the screenshots. Good to know the Mt. Hood rangers have an Instagram page; I started checking out recent postings.
USFS updated their Mt. Hood climbing page to reflect the same updates you shared.

It's crazy how little snow there is on the mountain at this point in the year, especially when considering how much snow California and the Rockies got this year (and still have). There are a few TR here with climbs in late June and July, and it's incredible how much snow and ice were still present in those years. Day and night difference from this year.

Short synopsis - not looking great for me. I basically have two options - hike up to the crater and likely/inevitably turnaround around or forgo any visit to Mt. Hood and head to Adams or Crater Lake NP to get in some hiking.
Looks likely I'll remain at 43 highpoints.

[Scott P]

July just isn't a good month to climb Hood (though the first week can be OK in some years). Even in heavy snow years the conditions often deteriorate. I tried it on July 17 in a heavy snow year, but even then conditions weren't great. A few decades ago people used to climb Hood well into August, but a lot of the old snow and ice has melted off the walls making rockfall a much bigger danger than it used to be. Even when there is a lot of snow in July, rockfall can still be a problem since a lot of the ice holding the rock together has melted. People still do occasionally climb the peak after early July, but it just isn't a good idea most of the time. I'm only familiar with the standard route though, maybe there are routes that are better late season.

July is prime for Rainier so there is a temptation to try and do both on the same trip, but the prime season for Hood is earlier so they often don't combine well.

Maybe we can get a 14ers.com trip going for late May or early June next year.

[climbingcue]

Mt Hood is also one of the State high points I still need. (35/50) I am hoping to climb and snowboard down it in May of next year. We will see what the snow looks like.