I, along with Jeff Huber and Brett Nipps, summitted Mt. Hood via the standard South Side Route on 18 June 2000. It was a very good time, and a meaningful and worthwhile climb. Even if there were better than 200 people on it.

I'd always thought about climbing Mt. Hood, figured I'd like to, but didn't expect to do it this year. Aesthetically Mt. Hood is a very pleasing mountain. It's not tremendously high, but high enough, and there is some challenging climbing on the mountain, as well as a few relatively easy routes.

The last alpine climb of the season for me was going to be Mt. Shasta over Memorial Day Weekend 2000. I had planned a climb and ski descent of that mountain with a friend. As many of my friends and casual readers of this site know, that climb was not meant to be, as my friend, John Miksits, and his partner, Craig Hiemstra, lost their lives on Mt. Shasta in mid-April 2000.

I eventually decided to return to Mt. Shasta over Memorial Day Weekend with a group of friends to look for John, who had disappeared on the mountain during his accident with Craig and had not as yet been found. On our third and final day on the mountain we did find John at 11,800 feet just over the col between Shasta and Shastina.

I say all of this to say that even though in some ways our climb on Mt. Shasta this year was a positive experience - chiefly in that we were able to find John and hopefully give his family some closure - it really wasn't the high note on which I wanted to finish out the season. What I wanted to end the season was a great climb and descent with John. But, again, that was not meant to be.

As such, in the space of about an hour in late-May, I decided: 1) one more happy climb needed to be done, 2) Mt. Hood sounded like the place to climb and ski and was conducive to a day and a half on a mountain, no more was possible, due to time, 3) good people had to be there, 4) beer must be readily available, 5) it had to be stealth.

So I wrote some terse, energetic email to quality folk and the following happened in answer to the above:

1. The climb would go.
   
2. Mt. Hood would be it. We would ski the first day and climb and attempt a ski descent the second.
   
3. Jeff Huber and Jeff Keeney ("The Jeffs") from Mt. Shasta and Brett Nipps from RCU and numerous emails would be there.
   
4. Mt. Hood Brewing Co. was just around the corner. We would stay at Timberline Lodge at 6000 feet to make things easier on ourselves.
   
5. I would fly in on Friday night and fly out late Sunday, redeye into work on Monday. Stealth it was gonna be.