Cooper Spur and above

[drm]

After spending a day volunteering at the historic Tilly Jane Guard Station on Mt Hood, storing wood for the winter season (and hoping this winter I can go up on my tele boards instead of microspikes!), I camped for the night in front of the cabin and Sunday morning hiked up Cooper Spur and beyond.

The cabin is at 5700' so it isn't far to the timberline, then you switchback through the sand and alpine rubble to the top of the spur at around 8500', the highest maintained trail on Hood. A rougher trail continues across a rib that connects the spur to the mountains and leads to the start of a climbing route on the NE side at nearly 9000' - not a bad altitude top for a hike in the Cascades! I told my friend we're only 1500 feet from the summit so we should just run up there, but she wasn't into it.

Mt Hood from the top of the regular trail at about 8500'


upper part of the Eliot Glacier


From the 9000' level (8960 actually) looking up at the climbing route


Looking down from the top down the rib connecting to the normal trail's end


Even closer look at the Eliot Glacier


Looking south across the Newton Glacier (?) to Mt. Jefferson and North Sister beyond

[acorn woodpecker]

Love that view of Cooper Spur, Elliot Glacier, and the climbing route from the ~9000ft level. Was up at that very point on Oct. 3 last year. The climbing route looks terrible this time of year. Just riven with rockfall. Nice overnighter in the early fall!

[drm]

Those paths in the snow are not rockfall, they are footfalls. They go up and then angle left. People are still climbing it this time of year.

[Guy]

That was you Dean!

I think you past Chiyoko & I just before trails end as we were descending & had stopped to talk to Adam (Cascade Hiker) & his Dad.

Great day to be up there.

[Chip Down]

Hey, I was up there today too, on the other side (bottom of Snow Dome). Surprised how late in the day folks were still headed up CS. Maybe campers.

Regarding climbing: Possibly the dumbest craziest thing I ever did was climbing CS to the summit in August, in the dark, my first time on the route, and then descending in the dark (because I overestimated the climb time, and wasn't going to sit on the summit for 5 hours waiting for dawn). How I'm alive to tell this tale is beyond me. It scares me now just thinking of it.

...then you switchback through the sand and alpine rubble to the top of the spur at around 8500', the highest maintained trail on Hood.

Oh, is that an official FS trail? I didn't know.

[Water]

These Cooper Spur pics have me hankering to get up there before the snow comes in! Liking the glacier shots too. Looks like most of tracks are people playing in the snow/glissading for a bit. I really hope not too many have attempted to go beyond the snow. That's totally bonkers Chip Down!! I've climbed it a few times but think March or April are the best.. Very snowy, never have to touch rock.

Btw it's 2,250ft to the top from 9k contour line on the mnt.

[Chip Down]

I really hope not too many have attempted to go beyond the snow. That's totally bonkers Chip Down!! I've climbed it a few times but think March or April are the best.. Very snowy, never have to touch rock.

It was all snow/ice for me in early August. That's why I did it at night, wanted it cool and firm. Looking at that bare route, I just can't imagine! (Unless it's good quality...hey, don't laugh, it's not totally impossible to find good rock on an Oregon volcano, look at Thielsen.)

[miah66]

Don't look now, but this whole area is set to be relogged in the not so distant future:

http://bark-out.org/project/polallie-co ... imber-sale

It will impact access to this entire area.

8 new miles of roads, 4 miles of roads will be recommissioned.

[woodswalker]

Wow, that glacier looks jagged and broken. I was up there in August and it looked much more broken up than it had earlier in the year. Am I imagining that?
Woodswalker