Graffito on Cooper Spur

[rime]

Does anybody know when and why this large (~3 ft high) yellow "5" was painted on a rock on Cooper Spur at about 11,000 ft? The rock is above the Chimney and just below the snow rib that leads to the summit ridge. I spotted it last Thursday, but didn't think to get a close-up photo as I passed it on the right.

[Koda]

were still trying to figure out the 47 mystery on the other side of the mountain....

[retired jerry]

I didn't say it, but I was thinking it

And the "7" on the Southeast side

[Splintercat]

My guess would be lichens... or more likely, sulfur stains..? Just basing that on the other similar yellow splotches on the rock.

Tom

[Peder]

My guess would be lichens... or more likely, sulfur stains..? Just basing that on the other similar yellow splotches on the rock.

I hope so; graffiti would be so depressing.

[rime]

My guess would be lichens... or more likely, sulfur stains..? Just basing that on the other similar yellow splotches on the rock.

It was definitely paint. I bumped up the yellow saturation on the last photo to make the "5" clear, which may have made other parts of the rock look more yellow than they are.

I assume it's been there for a long time, but I haven't heard it mentioned anywhere.

[BurnsideBob]

Climb by numbers?

In Oregon High, A Climbing Guide by Jeff Thomas, route #5 on Mt Hood, called the
'North Face' in the book, joins the Cooper Spur route at about 11,000 feet.

The Cooper Spur route (Route #4 in the book) plus Routes 5, 5a, and 5b are marked on a photo on page 29.

Did the paint look like?

[rime]

As I recall, the paint did look similar to that in the photo, but I can't be sure.

I doubt it refers to route numbers from Oregon High. It doesn't seem like something that would be done in the modern era. As a note, my 1975 copy of A Climbing Guide to Oregon by Nick Dodge calls Cooper Spur route 2.

I found some documentation that in the 1930s and earlier ropes would be fixed along Cooper Spur and the South Side during the climbing season and tied off to steel stakes. When the season was over they would be coiled and stored in the summit fire lookout. Mount Hood: A Complete History by Jack Grauer notes that a fixed line on Cooper Spur assisted the founding climb of the Mazamas in 1894.

Maybe the numbered rock was used as an anchor for fixed lines. Or possibly the number was meant to assist the people fixing ropes. It could also have been meant to mark the route for ordinary climbers. One of these seems likely because the rock is at a point where the route turns to climber's left above the Chimney. Another idea is that it's a mile marker from the Tilly Jane Ski Trail trailhead.

I might visit the Mazama Library to investigate further.