To condition for Mt. Rainier, I'd been going to the gym and doing the stair-master for 2 hours at a time with a 50 lb pack and my mountaineering boots on. To get in one real conditioning climb, I decided to solo Mt. Hood via the Pearly Gates the weekend before we left for Rainier.
The Pearly Gates route shares its approach with the Old Chute route, which I've already climbed three times. For the last 500 or so vertical feet, where the climbing becomes technical, the Pearly Gates route goes more directly to the summit, where the Old Chutes skirt to the far left of a series of gullies. I hadn't attempted the Pearly Gates yet because it has a reputation for being "steppy", having sections of steep ice to climb.
On this particular Saturday, the route was in great condition. I left the parking lot just before 2 AM, following a great boot pack all the way up the the Hoogsback. I made good time, stopping only for a couple minutes at a time to eat, drink, and pee.
When I reached the spine of the Hogsback just after 5 AM, the hordes of climbers were all heading left toward the Old Chutes. I was the sole climber that ventured off toward the right and the Pearly Gates. I had to cross the bergschrund, which was really opening up, via a snow bridge. The snow bridge was still solid, especially with the cold morning temps, but would probably be melted out within the next couple of weeks, requiring a large detour to reach the Pearly Gates.
View from just above the bergschrund after crossing it.
To go along with the good conditions of the rest of the climb, the Pearly Gates were in pretty good shape, too. There was only one short, ~25 foot section of hard ice, and it was never steeper than about 45° or so.
Entering the Pearly Gates, the small slot in the middle of the picture.
Climbing up.
By 6 AM, I was standing on the summit, just four hours after I'd left the parking lot. The weather on the summit was prefect; clear skies with no wind. I spent an hour-and-a-half relaxing on the summit and talking with other climbers.
Instead of returning the way I'd come up, I opted to descend via the Old Chutes. The infamous catwalk was narrower and sharper than I'd ever seen it. Normally, it favors one side of the ridge, leaving at least a small amount of snow uphill of you for ice axe placements. Today, however, it was truly knife-edged, with shear drops on either side and barely wide enough for two mountaineering boots. I moved very slowly and deliberately, planting my axe as solidly as possible before each step.
The rest of the descent was uneventful, and I made it back to the parking lot by 10 AM, eight hours round trip, including a nice ling break on the summit, my best climb on Hood yet.
View from the Devil's Kitchen on my way down.
