MT HOOD HISTORY

Celebrate the History
of Climbing Mt Hood

Celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the first ascent of Mt Hood at the Mt Hood Climbing Expo August 4th from 11am to 3pm at the amphitheatre at Timberline Lodge. A free family event; learn the history of Climbing Mt Hood in the Amphitheatre at Timberline. Hands on learning including map and compass, GPS and mountain locator beacons. Plus much, much more. (Photo to the left: Courtesy Timberline Mountain Guides, Inc.)

Mt. Hood is a popular mountain for climbers from around the world, offering a challenging yet enjoyable journey to the top of the tallest mountain in Oregon. The 11,245-foot peak is frequently climbed to this day, with a deep history that dates back to 1857.

There has been some disagreement over time as to who really reached the summit first, but the trip made by a party of five on August 6, 1857 was the first accurately documented climb. According to records, Henry L. Pittock, Professor L. J. Powell, William S. Buckley, W. Lyman Chittenden, and James G. Deardorff were the first men to reach the top.

Deardorff documented the climb in a brief letter to the editor of the Democratic Standard, which was printed on August 13, 1857. He reported that it only took the men about five and a half hours to reach the summit from the timberline and about two hours for the decent. They expected to reach a broad, flat summit, but instead were startled by the narrow ridge of the summit, with sides that fall away quickly. Deardorff described it as a “narrow crag in the form of a crescent, the main ridge running west to east…” He also made note of the view from the top; to the north they were able to see Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Saint Helens. To the south they saw Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters. (Photo to the right: Courtesy Timberline Mountain Guides, Inc.)

During this time Government Camp was a newly forming town and Timberline Lodge didn’t yet exist. This meant that a trip to the summit of Mt. Hood usually started in Portland. Climbers didn’t have the luxury of parking a car in the Timberline parking lot and starting from there. Many people went by horseback to reach Government Camp, then camped before starting out on the final stretch of the climb in the early morning.

Over time, the novelty of climbing Mt. Hood started to wear off and people began striving towards new records. This included people using bicycles and eventually skis to reach the summit faster. Skis helped members of the Cascade Ski Club set a record in 1931, with a time of 8 hours and 49 minutes round-trip from 82nd and SE Division in Portland on August 26th.

Many other records were set over time. The first women to climb were Frances S. Case and Mary Robinson from Salem. They summited on August 26, 1867. The first winter ascent was finally successful on March 6, 1915.

The history of climbing Mt. Hood is largely entwined with the history of The Mazamas, the first mountain climbing club in Oregon. The Mazamas had their first climb to the summit on March 19, 1894 with over 228 people. At the top, they had an organizational meeting and became official. They were the third mountaineering club created in the United States, after the Appalachian Club and the Sierra Club.

Mt. Hood is a popular climb for beginner to expert climbers, with over 15 routes that have been developed over the years. The south side route is often recommended for beginners because it starts at the historical Timberline Lodge and follows the Palmer chairlift for about half the climb. The chairlift is a helpful landmark and guide if visibility gets low. Every other route varies in the difficulty of terrain, creating a path for everyone to reach the summit of Mt. Hood.

July/August 2007

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