It’s volcano season in the PNW. Last Friday was the first time I’ve been up in a couple of years. I like that the sky looks black from the summit of Hood. I like the feeling when you’re near the top, pearly gates or old chute, and it gets tough, and you have to disassociate from the fear, it’s hard to describe… the only thought is the next move you’ll make – step up, reset a tool, weight it. The consequences are high, and it’s just you – your mind, your body, what you call “you” … or someone else inside you, moving you like a marionette. No – it’s just me 🙂 I can’t even really hear anything in that state. A strange relaxation comes over me – I like it a lot. I guess it’s one of the reasons why people climb… or participate in any high risk activity. It doesn’t get any more real. In modern times, it’s hard to find anything that quite compares. Mostly I like the suffering, I just do.

I don’t like descending (down climbing, facing in, looking down between your boots), but it’s part of the gig, so you just have to accept it and move deliberately. The steepest part is reversing into the old chute (we went up and down that way). Steep steps backwards down churned up ice, no good purchase until you descend a bit lower when you kick into the névé and you’re locked in.

I took 1 liter of water + a smaller 500mL soft flask. I ran out of water after I got back to the Hogsback. One of the guys I was climbing with gave me a swig which was enough for the ski back to Timberline. 2 liters + next time. I ate a smashed up PB&J, some clif blocks and a couple of gels.

Putting in a lot of vertical skiing this year (I just passed 20 days) has made me much more resilient in less than ideal ski conditions. I felt great skiing back from Devils Kitchen – just fun turns, no anxiety – which can happen with a pack on skiing out of bounds. The snow conditions below crater rock were patches of loose ice cubes and wind blown styrofoam. The snow closer to Illumination Rock had been in the sun longer, still had a thin veneer of ice on top, but was softened corn just below. It made for pleasant turns.

This was the first climb I’ve done with Mazamas (after joining 10 years ago). Highly recommended, would climb with them again. Chatting on the skin up to Palmer made the time fly.