When the Snow Melts, Start Climbing
- Written by Ben Jacklet
- Category: Ski Mountaineering
- Last Updated: May 11, 2018
Beauty and terror on top of Oregon. Photos by Jason Murray
Editor's Note: This Mount Hood adventure took place in May of 2016, but it stands as relevant for any spring season on Mount Hood, where thousands of people climb to the top and ski and snowboard down every year, with all the joy and pleasure and occasional terror that accompanies a climb to and descent from 11,11,249 feet above sea level.
Would you climb a mountain with Donald Trump? Me neither... but I did climb Mount Hood with a Donald Trump impersonator, with winds gusting 50 miles an hour in exactly the wrong direction.
Asit Rathod and Friends Go All Out to Document the Seven Classic Ski Descents of Mount Hood
- Written by Ben Jacklet
- Category: Ski Mountaineering
- Last Updated: April 26, 2018
Asit Rathod and friends, enjoying the summit of Mount Hood. Ian Bristow is on the ridge with Brian Ellsworth. Asit is in red, skiing down, while Shawn Hokkanen, Carlos Martinez and Blake McCoy wait their turns. Photos by Richard Hallman
Asit Rathod knows Mount Hood.
These 20 photos by Grant Myrdal illustrate why so many Mount Hood regulars love to shred the Gorge in summer
- Written by Ben Jacklet
- Category: Wind and Waves
- Published: September 21, 2016
The Columbia River Gorge has some of the finest windsurfing in the world. Photos by Grant Myrdal
If you spend much time on Mount Hood you've probably run into Grant Myrdal at some point, and chances are pretty good that he's got a photo of you somewhere in his archives. A few years ago Grant expanded his action photography gig into the Columbia River Gorge, largely because so many of his friends and customers who spend their winters shredding Hood also spend their summers shredding the Gorge.
The History of Mount Hood: A Timeline
- Written by Ben Jacklet
- Category: History and Tradition
- Last Updated: September 22, 2017
- Hits: 12164
This Digital Public Library image from the 1930s shows that Mount Hood did indeed have a summit hut in the pioneer days of outdoor recreation.
Not long after the first pioneers found their way to the Cascade Range, they started dreaming up ways to climb - and ski - Mount Hood. It's a rich tradition of ingenuity that continues to this day. This timeline should give you an appreciation for the rich history associated with Oregon's tallest mountain.
Where to eat and drink on Mount Hood
- Written by Ben Jacklet
- Category: Where to Eat and Drink
- Last Updated: September 22, 2017
- Hits: 18850
It's hard to beat the hot chocolate at Timberline Lodge.
Dining and drinking options on and around Mount Hood range from an irresistably greasy bag of donuts at Joe's in Sandy to fine fondue and chardonnay at Timberline Lodge's Cascade Dining Room. A good hard day of shredding at high altitude makes everything taste better, so it's best to be open-minded about all your mountain options. I'll organize this article into three sections: Heading up to the Mountain, On the Mountain, and Heading Back Home.
17 Miles of Bliss and Growing: The Rise of Sandy Ridge as an Oregon Mountain Biking Destination
- Written by Eileen Garvin
- Category: Mountain Biking
- Published: June 24, 2016
- Last Updated: May 05, 2017
Sandy Ridge was built for mountain bikers by mountain bikers. Photos by Leslie Kehmeier, courtesy of BLM
In the damp, shady forest on the western side of Mount Hood, there’s a magical system of trails so perfect it’s almost like it emerged fully formed out of a mountain biker’s dream.
Family Flow Time: The Simple Pleasure of Running Oregon’s Sandy River with Your Kids
- Written by Ben Jacklet
- Category: Paddling
- Last Updated: May 05, 2017
Paddling the Sandy with your children is easy, safe and fun.
Like a lot of hard-core winter sports enthusiasts, I tend to have a hard time when the snow melts. Especially after an especially fine powder season like 2016-17. It can be painful when that waist-deep snow melts down into slush. Except those H2O molecules you’ve been riding aren’t really gone.
The Great Flood: The Birth of a Sandbar, and a Wind-Riding Paradise
- Written by Eileen Garvin
- Category: Wind and Waves
- Last Updated: May 05, 2017
The Hood River Kiteboarding Scene has exploded over the past decade. Photos by Grant Myrdal
In the wee hours of November 7, 2006, Mother Nature threw a tantrum on Mount Hood.
State Championship Returns Triumphantly to Mount Bachelor
- Written by Robin Cressy
- Category: High School Alpine Racing
- Published: March 22, 2018
Competitors whoop it up for the return of state to Mount Bachelor. Photo by Robin Cressy
Editor’s Note: Over 230 athletes competed as the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association returned to Mt Bachelor March 7-9 for the Oregon High School Alpine Ski Race State Championships for the first time since 2011. Reporter and videographer Robin Cressy was on the scene, and contributes the following report.
Eight Facts to Consider About the Active Volcano we call Mount Hood
- Written by Ben Jacklet
- Category: Environment
- Last Updated: January 02, 2018
Please don't erupt any time soon.
Mount Hood made news in spring of 2016 when scientists reported 77 minor earthquakes swarming the mountain over 24 hours.