sumofmh.html

History of Early Pioneer Families of Hood River, Oregon.
Compiled by Mrs. D.M. Coon

THE SUMMIT OF MT. HOOD REACHED FROM THE NORTH SIDE

HOOOD RIVER AUGUST 13, 1887. BY DR. T.L. ELIOT
Three Hood River men achieve the feat -- a difficult and dangerous climb the wonderful glaciers, etc.

Mt. Hood has been ascended and the summit gained by what, from Portland, appears as the northern slope. So far as known this is a feat which has never before been achieved, though several attempts have been made of late years.
A party made up at Hood River started out August 10, and on the morning of the 11th eight men, the majority being very hardy and well equipped with pikes, cork shoes, ropes, etc., proceeded to explore a new route to the top of the mountain. Leaving camp at about 7 A.M. they crossed Eliot glacier high up, the late season rendering such a course possible, as snows cover the crevices.
Traversing the intervening small spurs the party rounded a huge long rock, part of the Barrett Spur, at the upper side, crossing Coe glacier, which is divided at its head by the rock named, and which might be called the "Cockscomb", from the striking resemblance in immense outline to a rooster's crest. Here the ascent proper begins up the northwest slope. The men soon encountered the real difficulty and danger of ascents upon the northerly side. What appears at a distance to be mountain ribs of bare rock are vast piles of loose stone, large and small, the talus or wastage of the original mass. Anyone who has seen similar stone tailings on a smaller scale, as on the Columbia River opposite Wind mountain or the Cascades can form some idea of the work and peril of climbing a shifting mountain face like this, where at any moment large rocks may be set in motion, or slides of showering stones start down from one climber upon another. Nearly half of the distance to be overcome was of this character and involved two hours time. At or near the end of the rocks four of the party rested on their laurels.
Three others, Messers Newton Clark, Wm. J. Smith and Elmer Rand, continued up bluffs and around precipices, over lava and snow fields, in one place cutting steps for several hundred feet.
They describe this part of the ascent as difficult and of course dangerous, except for men of endurance and nerve.
As is usual in such work they found appearance of every kind very deceptive, and when the summit was thought to be gained another and still another higher slope rose as the actual goal. At one o 'clock, however, all three were actually on the summit, having walked and climbed, without an appreciable interval since 7 a 'clock in the morning. They examined the various boxes and mementos which have been left by previous adventurers, and made record of their own exploits. In returning they faced towards the south for a while in order to avoid the very steep snow slope they had last ascended, but were soon compelled to return to the summit and descend in their former tracks,
They saw what appeared to be two men working down the south slope far below them, and surmised that they had been turned back by the same obstacle on that side, namely, the crevasse about twenty feet wide. Their impression is that the usual route from the south lies across this crevasse, by some snow bridge, now cut off. In descending use was made of the rope, and steps had to be taken, often backwards or on their hands and knees. Their companions had started down, and were for nearly three hours descending on a wrong track. At about 5 o'clock they joined forces, and all reached camp at sunset. The day was very favorable for the ascent, but the view was broken by smoke and the heliograph carried up for the purpose of giving arranged signals to Portland, The Dalles and Hood River was not put in use. Mr. Coe's fine field glasses were lost, the strap having slipped or broken. They slid a mile or so "in sight" and are now possibly on their way to the front of Sandy glacier, and when recovered may be claimed by his posterity.
The successful ascent thus chronicled is probably the last that will be attempted from the north, at least for some time, for the verdict is that this is no climb for tourists or tyros.
The south side of the mountain is the available, easy and safer route. The attractions of the side and they are incomparable continues to be on the one hand, accessibility to the mountain; on the other, the striking grandeur of the scenery and interest of the glaciers. The view front Photograph Point may fairly challenge the comparison with any in the world.
In the foreground is the chasm of the Middle Fork, with its boiling thread-like river, and the moraine of the glacier, a tossed up sea of gravel and rock, with faces of stained ice. Over this rises in successive steppes, the snowy portions of the ice-river and mountain. On the left and right are the lateral moraines, like long coffins under heaps of stone. Cooper's Spur extends far to the east, and Barrett's spur fills the view to the west and north. Above these rises, as by a sheer mighty lift, the mountain itself, with the middle, a rock precipice to the summit, and the long scars of crevasses and stratas diagonal on the whole mountain face. Turning about, one looks as far as Mount St. Helens, Rainier, and Adams, which are grandly elevated and the vast intervening country is like a raised map of hill waves, through which can be traced river courses.
The writer, in company with Dr. Perry Barrett of Hood River, spent five hours in walking over the main glacier and moraines investigating the phenomena, and tracing the history, which is so plainly written, of the moving ice. Great changes are apparent from year to year, and at this time the center and front of the terminal moraine seems to have sunk more than a hundred feet. The depth of the glacier may be judged front the fact that stones dropped into one deep pocket crevice were four full seconds in reaching the watery bottom below, where the glacial torrent was running. Renewed estimates of the size of the whole glacier, place the width at about one mile, and the length three and one half miles, without including the summit snowfield.
In crossing the terminal moraine one appears to be on a wilderness of broken stone and boulders, ascending and descending successive slopes of an average of one hundred feet. The presence of ice would scarcely be suspected, but it lies only a few inches beneath every hummock of gravel and may be seen on exposed faces of the broken hillocks, or where surface streams of water are pouring. The camp at snowline is exceptionally pleasant.
The snow in the foothills last winter must have averaged from fifteen to fifty feet, and one camps near huge mounds of it which have not yet melted, though a little way off is a hillside of waving grass and flowers.

T.L.E.

The above letter by Dr. T.L. Eliot was furnished by Mrs. Eleanor La France a Hood River pioneer of 1875.