Training: climbing at strong winds at Mt. Hood, OR

116 days to Day 1

First time ever, two of us climbed at winds approaching 100 km/h, officially recorded by weather station.

We never climb when it's windy (summit wind speed > 20 km/h), but for the Denali preparation, we were curious how it would feel to have strong winds climbing open snow slopes. We had it. Result: first degree frostbite.

Lessons learned: Avoid direct touch of any uninsulated metal. If windy, wear goggles or it will hurt.

Crossing US border on a beautiful sunny day.


Mt. Hood (3,427m) is a super popular alpine peak. It is the highest mountain in Oregon. We have climbed it already via Pearly Gates route back in 2017.

Our track


Wind speed on the climbing day. 11:00 was recorded 93km/h, at 2,000m, but we climbed at 3,000m, so..


Windy..will pick up more speed higher up and will blow hardest after sunset on our descent, in darkness.


We decided to quit "just" 60m below the summit. Good call it was: we didn't know yet that Vera had frostbite, or her 1st degree could turn into a deep-tissue possible amputation.


Sunset time. Downclimbing is always harder than climbing.


Bruise from falling ice.


First-degree frostbite from prolonged contact with an ice axe.
Location: Mt Hood (3,426m), Oregon, USA

Comments

  1. LPNApril 18, 2019 at 2:50 PM

    I can never forget that day . . . . . .
    Good experience and good lesson!

    ReplyDelete

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