Crater Rock Technical Ice Fall variation

Approach

Drive to Timberline Lodge as described in the "Getting there" section on the main Mt. hood page to start your hike.

Route Description

Start at Timberline lodge around 6,000'. and hike up the climbers trail on the east side of the ski out of bounds area. You will pass Silcox Hut (way off to the west), then you will come to an area where the Palmer has wands from East to West (7,900'). Continue on to the top of the Palmer at 8,500'. From here, either walk laterally to the Palmer lift and then go straight up or work your way diagonally while gaining more altitude. At about 9,100' Crater Rock starts to come into view. Start up the steep snow slope to the base of Crater Rock. From there, traverse to the west side until the split/ gully becomes obvious. While in the gully, watch out for ice and rock fall. It is a natural path for anything coming down. That would also include a climber if one fell. It might be a good idea to stay out of the gully until it has been cleared by other climbers. Anyway, continue up the chute until you hit a near vertical wall of ice. From here I would recommend two tools as with any ice climb. However, we did it with one ice axe as the section was only about 10' tall. I believe this section of vertical ice will vary depending on the time of year. As spring comes, expect this section to get steeper and higher from run-off erosion. Once you gain the top of the ice fall, make the lateral traverse to the northeast until you pick up the normal trail to the base of the hogsback. If you do it right, you should only be about 75 vertical feet below the base of the hogsback. From there continue up the hogsback. See the hogsback route description for further details.

Essential Gear

Ice axe, helmet, and crampons. Possibly a second tool for the ice fall climb.

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.