Historic Hood River
Whee!
Notes
Charlott described the glissade down the ice field at the end of the American Legion Climb of Mt. Hood as everyone’s favorite part. You can certainly see why in this view. It was 5:30 PM, and this climber had been working hard since well before dawn. Where a modern climber might use an ice ax to control the rate of descent, in this era the climbers were equipped with alpenstocks instead. The campaign hat makes me think this climber was an American Legion member.
This is from the July 1927 climb, which is the first in which the Crag Rats were the official “guides”. Probably most of the Crag Rats had already served as guides either because of their connection to the Hood River Ski Club or the American Legion, but the rescues of Calvin White and Jackie Strong thrust the new organization into the national spotlight.
This photo was taken by Alva Day.
Tags: 1920s, Alva Day, American Legion, Legion climb, mountain climbing, mountaineering, Mt Hood
Arthur Babitz
Sorry folks, didn’t have time to post a Thursday image, so you get Friday’s image a bit early. You can tell it’s Friday’s image because it is more fun than our usual fare. Hopefully I can catch up this weekend and get back to 5 posts next week.
Jeffrey Bryant
When I climbed Mt. Hood the trip down the mountain was my least favorite part. My knees hurt so much that I could barely walk by the time I reached Timberline Lodge.
BethH
I agree with Jeff, down Climbing the south side is a long slog! That’s why many climbers take skis as far up as they are comfortable. Glissading has always been a fun, fast way to descend as long as it’s steep enough to keep you going.
L.E.
I just listened to a podcast about Elijah Coleman building the lookout on Mt. Hood. Is this the route they would have taken to pack the lumber to the summit?
BethH
Yes – that was his route. South side climb