Climbing Mount Hood
There’s nothing like it.
Standing on top of or even just high up on a mountain as grand and as beautiful as Mount Hood can be a truly amazing experience.
Summit ridge of Mount Hood. Photo by Trin Yuthasastrakosol
Climbing Oregon’s tallest peak, which an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people attempt to do every year, can also be exhausting, unnerving, dangerous, and even deadly.
Two of my favorite chapters in On Mount Hood explore the world of climbing on Mount Hood. It’s a subject that has fascinated me since the day I first saw the mountain back in 1997.
Tonight, (March 29, 2012),Oregon Public Broadcasting’s show Oregon Field Guide takes its own look at climbing the mountain in an episode called “Mount Hood: Climbing Oregon’s Highest Peak.” It airs at 8:30 p.m. and again at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 1. It will also be online in the not-too-distant future. Judging by these short videos here, it should be a great show for any and all fans of the mountain.
A Skier’s View on Mount Hood
Compared to a few weeks ago, when it seemed like all of Portland had headed to the White River Sno Park on Mount Hood for a little sledding, the place was empty when we rolled in the week before St. Patrick’s day. Just a handful of people in the parking lot getting ready to head up out of the cold rain and into the snow, a few others putting out a an odd early-morning campfire.
We weren’t there for sledding this time, though. This time, it was all about some cross-country skiing, which White River is another perfect place for. The clouds were heavy, the low-down raindrops finally crystalizing into snow higher up, and the mountain wasn’t even close to being out. But we were, Daryl, Wyatt, Oliver, and I, and that was all that mattered.
On MOUNT HOOD 