Climbing Mt. Adams, Mt Baker, & Mt. Hood: need advice.

Alright, I've decided that Mt. Whitney would be too far and uneconomical this coming year. Mt. Rainier is a little out of my class, and my lack of glacier traversing experiance is limmited. I would feel uncomfortable leading someone less experainced than myself up Mt. Rainier without a guide.

There is an idea that has been picking at my brain over the last 12 hours. If I could climb Mt. Baker, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood while out there, I think I would be more than satisfied to get two of the three in. Even more so if I got all three mountains in, and knocked off my list. From what I know (which is very little) Mt. Baker is gaciated, and so is Mt. Adams. Not too sure about Mt. Hood. Another MP user mentioned that Hood was basically a walkup any time of the year. If that is the case, then I want to look more heavily into Adams and Baker. ANY informantion from anyone who climbed these mountains before would be most appriciated.
Doing all three mountains is a bit daugnting to me, but I think it can be done within a week.
Also, suggested routes would be helpful as well.
(my short resume includes Loft/Clarks arrow on Longs Peak, Avalanch Gulch on Mt. Shasta. That is the extent of my route finding skills. I have climbed Rainier with RMI, but got sick at Camp Muir. Never made it past Ingraham flats.(it wasn't altitude sickness becasue I was still sick at sea level) I have no experiance taversing glaciers un-guided, but I DO have knowledge of the dangers of crevases, snow bridges, and the time of day I need to be off of the dangerous areas. I have been trained on many Mountaineering skills (mostly from RMI and others from SMG).
Thanks a ton!

Climbing Baker, Adams, and Hood in a week would be pretty tough. None of them are particularly technical but you have to remember that in the Cascade range there's a lot of altitude gain-- this isn't the Rockies where you park your car at 10,000ft. and go from there.

I haven't climbed Mt. Baker, but I can say that Mt. Adams is probably going to be the least technical of the 3. The South side route is simply a walk-up on snow and rocks and unless you hit incredibly bad conitions roping up is not necessary. Mt. Hood's South side is extremely popular, is slightly more technical (glacier climbing, a bergshrund to navigate, crampons/ice axe/rope are necessary) but it's still a fairly easy cilmb. Hood can be done in a day, Adams is best as a 2 day trip, and again I'm not sure about Mt. Baker.

I would actually prefer to climb in hard snow or ice, but I like rocks too. I have plenty of crampon/ ice-ax experiance, but unguided glacier travel is a bit short.
As far as the knowledge of elevation gain, I have already notified my climbing buddy about that. I understand that E.G. is the key factor here vs. total elevation above sea level. I concider that more as a braging right to those who don't know a whole lot about climbing mountains.
I understand that doing all three (Baker, Adams, Hood) would be really though, but then again, it is tough for me to get out that far in the first place. I want to cover as much territory as I can in the time that I have. Otherwise I wait another year, and finacial and time facotrs may be different. Right now, I'm looking at a 2000 mile plus commute one way. I don't want to fly because then I have to pay for the airfair, and then a rental car on top of that in which they kill me on because I'm underaged, or they may not rent to me at all. for the same reason. Driving cannon-ball-run style is the best bet for me, but I may have to rent a car here too which costs a whole lot of $$$. There are reasons behind this, but I won't bore you with that crap.
Do you have any suggestions on a good time of year to give this a shot? Again, I'd like to go over hard snow, yet have the least difficulties when it comes to optimal weather windows.
Would getting a set of mountaineering snowshoes be recomended?
Any specific routes that I sould look into?

Late April or early May would be the best time of year if you want a good snowpack and good weather. You might want to double-check with the ranger station up at Mt. Adams to make sure the roads are open then, but I'm pretty sure they would be.

I'd have to go sometime after May 15th. No earlier, for work related reasons.
I know someone mentioned that Hood was pretty much a walkup in one day. Any word on the technicality of Adams and Baker? Again, would getting a set of mountaineering snowshoes be in order?
I need to know because I am going without a guide, and I am leading someone less experienced than me up the mountain. Both of us are in good condition.
I should probably re-title this if I can.

Yes, Mt. Hood is a 1 day climb. If you start at 4am you can be back in Portland sipping a beer by dinner time without too much trouble.

Adams can be done in a day but it's a much longer climb than Hood. The way I've done it is to hike up to some of the incredible terraced tent ledges the first day and then hit the summit and come all the way back down and back to Portland the next. An alternate way is to get an alpine start and go to the summit the first day then come halfway down to camp, and return to town the second day.

Again, I'm not sure about Mt. Baker but I believe it's on par with Adams and Hood as far as how technical it is. Simple glacier walkup as far as I can remember. For Hood you'll need crampons, an ice axe, and a rope and Adams only really requires a good pair of boots (ice axe may be nice though). No snowshoes requred for them.

Jason Himick wrote:By the way Pete, nice cover on Urban Climber... congrats.

Using a "Running Belay" will increase the safety factor. Also early spring is nice because of the snow cover, but you have to remember this snow will also conceal crevasses..

Haven't done any of them myself being purely a rock climber. But I've non-climber friends in Hood River who were hardcore tele-skiers, windsurfers, and mtn bikers run up and down Adams in tee shirts, shorts and sketchers in an afternoon on more than one occasion so it can't be particularly technical. I've heard similar accounts of Hood, but never of Ranier...

So the beta on Mt. Baker. It's a minimum 2 day climb, in my opinion. It also depends on which route you take. The two easiest are the Coleman-Demming and the Easton Glacier. Both are fairly crevassed, and I would not recommend traveling on the glacier as a team of two unless your self arrest and crevasse rescue skills are bomb-proof (for both team members). You will need crampons, ice axe, and plastic boots for sure. Most of both routes is a 30-40 degree snow climb until you hit the Roman Wall, a feature near the summit plateau that hits 50-55 degrees. Again, make sure your self-arrest is bomber. The snow conditions play a large part on the difficulty of this section, so be prepared for anything. The approach day is probably 5-6 miles in. The summit day is an alpine start and 4,500-5,500 feet of elevation gain depending on where you camp. Then pack up your stuff and head down.

And as far as it goes, change in elevation is a much more over-riding factor in AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) than absolute elevation.

Hey Paul, doing all three in a week is totally possible if you are in good shape and willing to push fast. That means getting acclimated before going, climbing/running high in colo before you go. In July me and a friend did Rainier via the ID in two days and Hood the day after, leaving the fourth day to fly out. Baker is pretty far from Adams and Hood, but if you have a good car I think your goal of all three is reasonable. Hood, when we were on it, and for my buddy before, was rotten and gnarly, rock fall is a big deal. Roping up on Hood is a give and take, deepending on the crevasse trouble. Good luck!

Hey just wanted to say that Mount Hood is not just a "walk up"...sure the South Side through the Pearly Gates is easy...but if you get caught in a white out on that route it is no longer just a "walk up". So many people under estimate Mount Hood because of Timberline Lodge. Also, there are plenty of "non-walk-ups" on the other aspects. Sandy Glacier Headwall, Yokum Ridge and Luethold Couloir on the West face are not "walk ups"...Castle Crags ridge crest is not a "walk up" either. Coe Glacier, Elliot Glacier Headwall are not walk ups...Then the Cooper Spur is the next step up from the South Side and is on the less crowded north side of Mount Hood...Hood is just as worthy as Adams and Baker...Just don't do the South side route and you'll enjoy it!

Any good links to check out each mountain up close including route information?

Aclimating to the altitued ahead of time will be extreamly tough. I live in Wisconsin at 500 ft above sea level. I am running and doing cardio/ respratory exercises to get in condition, in addition to the work I put in from last July's climb of Loft/Clark's arrow route on Longs. About the highest I can get here is Mt. Dundee and its not even a high hill let alone a mountain. I pretty much ran the loop trail five times during a school feild trip when I was in HS.

As far as skills go, I belive my self arrest skills are very good. I've practiced them quite a bit on Mt. Shasta, especially since I basically glisaded down the whole mountain. Lots of fun, but I picked up more speed than I would have liked- Had to do quite a few "emergancy stops" due to uncontrolable velocety. I haven't done team arrest since I was on Rainier, and that was a good number of years ago, but I still remember the lesons on rope teaming.

Cravase rescue is a big empety spot in my brain. I do now know the tecniques or anything beyond my own common sense. With that being the case, would Mt. Baker then be out of my class? I'd still like to do it and I am aware of the dangers of glacier travel. Would there be any way of getting some basics down while here in Wisconsin? The only glaciers we have here are the melted ones that we water-ski on when it's 80 degrees.

As far as equipment goes, I have my own ice ax and crampons. I do not have the big heavy lug boots, but instead, have a hybrid kind that are stiff for semi-rigid step-in crampons and flexable enough for hiking.

To "Hey you!", I was not downtroding Mt. Hood by any means. I was mearly expecting that it would be a bit easier to accomplish than the other two. From what some of you are saying, Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood are going to be fairly enjoyable chalanges for me and my freind.

As far as what Mr. Wolfe has said about Mt. Baker, is that it will be very dificult for me and my freind. As I said above, I would still like to climb Mt. Baker. With the skills that I have, would it still be something I could attempt without being concidered stupid and crazy? I do not think a rope team would be a good idea unless we had a team of four or more- preferably six. I agree with Mr. Himick here.

P.S. I hope this is not what I think it means:
""Because of the rescues and crash, officials closed Mount Hood to all climbers indefinitely.""
I got this from the link that Mr. Himick provided about the accident in 2002. PLEASE tell me the mountain is still climbable!

Any more advice, info, criticism, whatever, would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

P.P.S. sorry for the long winded reply.

I'm aware of the dangers of the weather. I've been hiking and climbing in the mountains since I was 5, and have learned some very valuable lessons since that time. I know it's not good to rely on anything but a good Topo map, compass, and my own navigational skills, but I do have a GPS that I use as a comparitave and secondary tool.

So, with everything that's been said, Baker would be the biggest challenge. I most certainly don't want to do anything stupid with my self, and even more so- leading my friend into dangerous territory without the proper knowledge. As Mr. Wolfe mentioned, the two easiest routes lead over heavily crevassed glaciers. My glacier traversing knowledge is not so-called "bombproof". If I were to attempt anything like this, it would make sense for me to bring a few anchors for ice and snow, and a rope and harness in case one of us were to fall in. I'm not saying that I am going to climb the mountain, I'm just speculating right now.
I know navigation over a glacier is like going through a labyrinth. Route markers would be a must I suspect. Would it be recommended that I take route markers along on the other two? I didn't take them on Mt. Shasta, but Mt. Shasta was pretty easy to know where I needed to go orientation wise.
Like the last two mountains I climbed alone with my friend, I want to have as much information as I can get, and be as prepared as I can get before climbing them.
I can't really say whether I am skillful enough to climb Mt. Baker or not unless I actually see and walk on the terrain. Right now, I'm getting the impression that it will be impossible for me to climb Mt. Baker, but then again, I don't know what Mt. Wolfe means in terms of "fairly crevassed". To what degree is this meant? If this also means fairly navigable, then I would suspect that I would be able to climb it providing I take the necessary precautions. If it means I'll be going over razor edged ledges and bridges, then I'd say "I'm not THAT dumb. There is always next year."
Any links to some maps or route data would be great!
By the way, I would expect to see plenty of climbers on Hood, but what about Mt. Adams, and Mt. Baker? Would it be likely that my friend and I would be alone on the mountain?
Thanks.

I think the best advice here might be: "Go out there, take a course or guided climb, learn mountaineering skills." Many questions would mostly be answered better than with words.

Adams is easy - never a rope, solo is fine, axe and crampons and knowing how to use them make it a walk-up. "Late April - early May" is too early - the road won't be open. June is the best month because you can be on snow from the trailhead, but the whole summer is just fine. You won't be alone on anything.

Hood is not a walk-up - there's a reason 3 people died in 2002. Its season starts earlier because the trailhead is Timberline Lodge, at the end of a plowed paved road. The season also ends earlier, because once the Pearly Gates melt out, the exposed crumbly volcanic rock is treacherous - snow cover needs to be complete. That's why by August the website will post, "The mountain is currently closed".

I did Rainier - Adams - Hood combined in 28 hours two years ago, so it's certainly possible to do those 3 volcanoes in a week's trip, but gaining acclimatization and experience might be the first goal. The NW volcanoes are fabulous mountains, nothing else like them, so I'm not trying to throw any wet blankets, just suggesting an enjoyable experience is paramount.

Good beta, I did a trip in May '02 where we climbed and skied Shasta, Hood, Adams, ST. Helens, RAinier, and got shut down on baker. Adams is easy w/crampons in May but plan on 2 days. Hood was easy but we took the lift and didn't start until about 2pm. We had good conditions and roped up only to cross the schrund. Baker was in terrible condition the time we were there, heavily crevassed, crappy snow. WE pushed to the edge of the glacier and turned around.
One thing to consider when doing the routes in May is the approach. You may be travelling on roads that aren't open yet and have snow drifts over them and then dirt (repeat for miles) only to be interupted by SnoMo's (on Baker, they can ride most of it and no one will enforce it when they are on areas they shouldn't be on). The Snow/dirt roads really impacted our approach time. Good luck.
Almost forgot to mention - Rainier can sometimes be easier than Adams or Baker in May for a few reasons IMO. First they wand the entire thing, second crevasses are well covered although still a threat but not as bad a Bakers I thought, third the road is plowed to Paradise in May, not so for Adams or Baker, fourth there is a hut that usually has room (no tent to carry), fifth toilet on Rainier = out of the wind to take care of business.

Buzz, I've taken mountaineering courses before, just not any glacier seminars like those offered by RMI. That is why I'm so concerned about the glacier travel on Mt. Baker. My self arest skills are great, and I even have a steep hill close to home where I can safely practice as long as the sledding kids have gone home.

To everyone else: It seems like Baker may be out of my class. So, perhaps I should cut that out of the question. Now, climbing something like Mt. Rainier without a guide. I know it's been done, and I know it's discouraged, but what is the likelyhood of something like that being able to be done? I have been on Mt. Rainier before, but never made it past Ingraham flats. (I got sick at Camp Muir and was still sick down at sea level, so I'm sure it wasn't AMS. Probably some bug in the water or food I brought. I could not eat anything without throwing up, and my energy level just plumited. I probably could have trudged on if I pushed myself very hard, but felt it would be better for my own good to turn around.) I know very well what to expect on Mt. Rainer. I was kinda hoping to save that one for last as I thought it would be the hardest. According to Kartch, Rainier is suposedly easier than Baker. I can understand why by the reasons given.
So, if I were to trail a team up the mountain, would that be classified as undiginified and wrong? I've thought about trailing just behind a team from RMI or another guide service before, but thought it might be unethical because I should be paying them for guiding me up the mountain. Of course, I'd also get crammed into that broom closet with 29 other people once I reached camp Muir, but that was a minor grumble.
I would be climbing the Jon- Muir route IF (and that is a big if)I did this.
And I will notify my freind of the possible change.
I also know Mt. Rainier is very very tough. (it was when I climbed @ 16 yrs old) But I think I may be better mentaly prepaired for it this time around after climbing a couple other mountains and being out there alone without guides or parents/siblings for that matter. I know I was not mentaly prepaired the first time even though I was physically fit to do it.

I will not be climbing any of these mountains in May. That's just the absolute earliest I can go. I was looking more toward sometime in June to mid-July.

Holy cow! Did everyone fall alseep here?!

What would the likelyhood of being able to find a climbing partner for Mt. Rainier? I am GUESSING that this forum has something like that, but never explored it.

yeah, just post that you're looking for partners under a new topic, so that people who are browsing can see it.