TR: Mt. Hood - Coopers Spur 7.8.06. Nothin' like one last DP
The funny thing is that I'm not really a morning person - I'm not. But I'm always up for a DP and especially so if there's a summit up for grabs as well. Screw that alpine start garbage...skiers don't alpine start. Skiers DP, period. And if you simply stay up all night and start hiking at 2am, it's still a DP. I think that run in with the "mountaineers" has me a bit revved up still....more on that later.
Every summer I head to Oregon, back home. My parents and sisters still live there and my kids need to see the ocean each year and remember they have grandparents up there. It's also a chance for me to slip away for a day or two and play on my home mountain - Mount Hood.
Two years ago it took me three trips to the hill to summit the thing (weather was brutal) but since I was solo on that last attempt I chose to leave the skis at the bergshrund on the South Side route and have regretted that since. Since the South Side is a "been there done that" I chose a more striking line this year - the Coopers Spur. Since I had the line picked out, I only needed someone amped enough about skiing in July who wouldn't flinch at the opportunity - Squirrel99 was my man. He would later admit that he thought we were going to be skiing some headwall and not a steep exposed "you fall and you WILL die" proud line. Ignorance is bliss.
the "proud line"
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...e/IMG_8326.jpg
I met the rodent just shy of 11pm at the Circle K in Gresham and we were off to Cloud Cap via Hood River. Driving through the clear night I couldn't help but dose off a bit despite the last 13 miles of rough gravel road. We kept pushing back our start time saying, “Ok, a 3am start will be good” to which we’d then say, “well, how about we sleep for an hour and leave at 4am” and so it went.
“Is this it?”
“I don’t know,” I replied, "I think this is the start of the trail" to which Squirrel replied “Wait a second, I thought you knew how to get here!?”
“It can’t be that hard – the mountain is up there” pointing at the silhouette in the sky. I think he was having his doubts about finding the line.
1.5 hours of nap time and we were off at 5am – a bit later than we had planned. As we neared the timberline the sun painted the mountain.
Follow my ski tips - they point to the line.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...e/IMG_8150.jpg
Good morning from St. Helens, Rainier and Adams (L to Rt)
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...e/IMG_8149.jpg
We kept ascending over snowfields and scree trails to the "spur" stopping a bit before to stow some gear we knew we wouldn't need.
As we got closer it struck me that the line was steeper than I had previously thought. I had never really been closer than the road from Govy to Hood River so viewing the line from a distance gives you no perspective as to how the last 3000' kicks straight up. I'll admit that I had some tentative thoughts about our chances. Fortunately I was out in front of Squirrel so I couldn't find a sounding board for my hesitation - I just had to ignore it and keep on going. The wind started to kick up and was quite chilly as I reached the start of the "climb" where I switched from trail runners to Scarpa Matrix. Found a couple of Wild Country stoppers sitting on a rock - booty gods were smiling on me.
Getting Closer
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...oopersspur.jpg
The Rodent himself
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...opersspur1.jpg
Can you spot the Rodent?
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...oopersspur.jpg
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...opersspur1.jpg
Yea, those are alpine boots. One determined Squirrel and one sweet line.
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...oopersspur.jpg
Getting steeper - the view was hard on the eyes- Rainier and Adams (left to right)
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...s_fromhood.jpg
Just after I took this photo we observed a large dishwasher size rock and some of its smaller followers peal off from the lookers right. We watched them tumble down the spur and pitch off the cliff onto the Elliot Glacier below. We weren't in any danger from it but it got our attention.
I passed Squirrel and led up into the rock chutes. As I entered the first slot a rock just bigger than a bowling ball pealed off just above me and to the side. It bounced past me and as I turned I saw it was headed on a collision course for Squirrel. I yelled "ROCK, ROCK!!!" and saw Squirrel stand up from a head down climbing position. He had what I would estimate to be 1.5-2 seconds to make his move. I could see him hesitate for a moment with the thought of "do I move right or left". I kept thinking "move, move!" and figured that I was about to see my buddy die by getting hit squarely by this rock. (Amazing what you can think about in 1-2 seconds) At the last possible moment he dove to the climbers right as the rock whizzed by in the exact location were he was standing - about chest high. "We've got to get up and down this thing pronto!" I yelled down.
I only managed a couple more photos on the rest of the climb since I wanted to get out from under the rocks.
Near the summit looking down - falling here est verboten!
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...mounthood1.jpg
On the summit - looking down the route we'll ski. This rib is a "don't even think about falling" no fall zone as well - http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski..._mounthood.jpg
I walked over to the true summit and waited for Squirrel who I had heard earlier groaning or moaning. I thought he was singing along to his iPod. After he got on the summit he sat down and gritted his teeth and moaned about his feet. He was in some wicked pain.
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...fer_mthood.jpg
Obligatory Summit shot - looking south with Jefferson in the background.
http://www.feedthehabit.com/pics/ski...hoodsummit.jpg
to be continued....
