Mt Hood - Snow Dome

Picture taken June 13, 1998. The Dome is the obvious large snow field to the right of the Eliot Glacier. There are actually two climbers about 1/2 way up the dome in this photo but scan quality and scale make them difficult to see. Usual route of ascent is the Northern lateral moraine of the Eliot Glacier, gain the ridge just to the right, then punch up the center of the Dome to the bergschrund.

Another look at the route.

Got up at 3am. Wanted to get a super early start b/c sunrise is so early and I didn't want to deal with skiing on warmed-up mung snow. On the road at 3:30. Arrived at the Cloud Cap parking lot (5850') at 5:15 or so. Some people camped up there - probably wishing I would die for being up there so early. Oh well. Crossed the Eliot Glacier drainage on a snow bridge and then started to gain the west lateral moraine for the slog up to the base of the Dome. The Snow Dome is a huge snowfield bulge pinched between the Eliot and Coe Glaciers on the North side of the mountain. A classic Northwest ski shot. Perfect day - no wind - temp in the mid-50's.

A look at the lower Eliot Glacier icefall from about 7000 feet. Ski tracks center right of the picture.

Made the high saddle demarking the transition from the Eliot Glacier above to the Langille Glacier below at around 7:30 - 7500'. Had noticed 2 dudes up high on the dome when I was climbing up. They were attempting the summit via the "Sunshine" route. They were at about the 10K elev. when I was booting up. Looks like a really cool route - hope I get a chance to bag it one day. Looks VERY exposed from 10K to the summit.

Mt Rainier (L) and Mt Adams in the distance from the saddle at 7500 feet.

The view of the snowdome from the saddle.

Continued on up the Dome to just above the 9K level where the crevasses were starting to show and snow conditions were getting a little worse. The snow up there was getting pretty cuppy but still skiiable.

Mid-summer crevasse

Sat down for a big break and a look at the topo map. Previously I'd just descended the same route as the ascent - the unfortunate result being a long slog on foot back to the car down the west lateral moraine of the Eliot Glacier. Lots of scree on that hike. Instead I planned on skiing the Dome to 7500 feet, then shooting a connector to the upper Langille glacier which would take me down another 800 vertical - then another connector to the lower Langille glacier that would take me down to the Timberline trail just below 6K. All in all a descent of about 3300 vertical feet. The unaswered questions were: How far down did skiable snow continue? Were the connectors between the glaciers still intact so I could ski them? How difficult was routefinding going to be?

A closer look at the upper Eliot Glacier icefall.

Started making turns at around 9. Read in some usenet posts that the skiing on the Dome in late summer is better to skiiers right. Headed over there after making my way out and under a particularly big yawning crevasse. The right side of the Dome is much steeper and is basically the rollover into the Eliot Glacier icefall so the exposure hade me a little puckered. Skiing was definitely better over there, though. Skiied down to the saddle at the base of the Dome and made the connector to the upper Langille Glacier. SWEET. Made my way far left in the bowl for some steeper turns and followed down to where the glacier pinched off at around 6800 feet. This snow connector would have been fine about a week ago, but it had melted partially out and I had to do a 30 foot portage to the lower Langille Glacier. This last 1000 vertical feet was really nice - VERY removed from the overpopulated feel of the South Side. Skiied down to the 6K mark and starting searching for the trail. BINGO - found it and skied literally to the trail at 5840' where the snow petered off immediately thereafter in that drainage.

The entire descent route revealed. Traversed to North aspect of the upper Langille bowl and skied to the end of the line - end of the snow in this drainage is seen at lower left.

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