Oregon’s Mount Hood is one of few places that offers lift served skiing and riding well into the summer months thanks to Timberline Lodge, but their chairlifts don’t go to the very top of the active stratovolcano. To get to the summit, you need to head far above the resort boundary, hiking your way to the peak. PeakRankings correspondent Steven took on the challenge to demonstrate the entire Mt. Hood journey.
Steven set out around 1 a.m. from the Timberline Lodge parking lot at about 6,000 feet, aiming to reach the 11,000-foot summit by mid-morning. Climbing above 9,500 feet requires a special permit. Below that line, Timberline runs one of the more extensive lift served summer ski operations in North America through the Palmer lift, which sits on a glacier on the mountain’s southern side.
Along the way, the route passed several well-known landmark including the Silcox Hut, the top of the Palmer lift, the sulfur vents at Devil’s Kitchen, and the base of Old Chute, the steepest and final push toward the top. Steven did run into trouble when a crampon came loose near the summit, but he managed to fix it on the spot and keep moving. Once at the top, he chose to ride down through the Crater Rim area instead of Old Chute, covering roughly 5,500 vertical feet back to the parking lot.
Mount Hood looks approachable from the lifts below, but the terrain above the resort boundary calls for the right gear, patience, and good judgment. If you’re planning on heading up to the summit, make sure you’re doing so with the right gear and the proper experience. You can learn more about climbing the mountain here.