South Side Route
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...And by that time it was getting light out.
The photo above shows our team waiting on the Hogsback for rope teams to cross the bergschrund, which is the large crevasse in the center of the photo. To either side of the Hogsback the slope caved off steeply: to the left was the stinking crater, and to the right was the top of the White River Glacier. You didn't want to fall either way. Above the bergschrund is a short, relatively steep, 35-degree chute, which climbs above the 'schrund and on up the notch in the rock and ice walls - the Pearly Gates - visible in the right-center ridgeline above. It was fun climbing. I was climbing last on the rope and was watching out for the numerous rope teams ascending and descending the upper mountain. I used relaxed international technique (frontpointing with one cramponed boot while using the other horizontally to maintain balance) and just concentrated on keeping slack out of the rope and on staying clear of the various folks on the route. It was fun and laid back. It also took forever, waiting for everyone to get clear so we could climb up. I'm confident that we could have trimmed two hours off the climb in total if there hadn't been anyone else there. But still, it was sort of an interesting challenge making it all work as we headed up. At the same time, my head was in other places. I knew when I started up Mt. Hood that this climb would likely be my last alpine climb of the spring/summer season. I knew that I probably needed a break from climbing and from the situation that had occurred on Mt. Shasta with John and Craig. I was thinking about a lot of this stuff heading up the mountain, and to be honest, I was a little bit on autopilot. I kept climbing up with my head mostly down, kick-kick, place-place, kick-kick... |