- All levels Skill Level All levels
- Ages 16+ Ages Ages 16+
Ever wanted to summit Mount Hood but feel like you don’t have the skills to do so? Spend a day with us on the mountain developing your mountaineering skills.
Quick Details
Mt. Hood Summit Climb
Towering over Oregon’s capital city, Portland, and the nearby Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood challenges aspiring mountaineers to push their physical limits and realize their ambitions to climb a stunning glaciated peak. Our professional instructors will guide you on your mission to scale the world’s second most climbed mountain.
Climb above the clouds and witness the beautiful landscape of the Pacific Northwest’s volcanoes with views of Mt. Adams, Mt. Saint Helens, and even Mt. Rainier.
Aspiring summiteers should be ready for a strenuous, full day of physical and mental challenges on the mountain’s classic South Side route. Grit, determination, and sound decision-making can all come together with the awe-inspiring summit of Oregon’s biggest volcano.
This course has prerequisites. Please see below.
***This course is led by the Northwest School of Survival that operates under special use permit on the Mt. Hood National Forest and operates on a non-discriminatory basis***
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This trip includes a mandatory online pre-trip meeting two evenings before the course start date.
All participants are required to attend a pre-trip meeting with their guide to check equipment, conditions and to establish a specific time and location to meet up on the morning of the climb. Pre-trip meetings are typically completed online from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, 2 days before a course (Thursday evening for Saturday course), and your guide will send out an invitation for this.On the day of a climb, participants are responsible for getting to the meet up location ready and on time. We appreciate environmental considerations and ride sharing. Please let us know if you would like to coordinate a carpool with other participants.Pre-Trip Meeting
- 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Online meeting. You will bring all personal gear and equipment to this meeting. We will go over the route and itinerary as well as go over personal and group gear to ensure everyone has what they need.
Day 1
- We will start the summit day with an alpine start around midnight. We will climb by headlamp and hopefully reach the upper-mountain by sunrise, then make the summit push in the early morning light. Conditions, weather, and team dynamics will dictate outcomes, but the goal is to be back to base by the early afternoon, which will allow you to be back in Portland by dinner time.
Out-of-Town Participants
We recommend that anyone flying into Portland arrive as early as possible on the day before the trip. We also recommend you do not book a return flight until late (red-eye) on the last day of the trip, or the following morning is ideal.
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- 16+ with consent from a guardian and Kaf approval
- 12-18 for youth courses
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This is a one day ascent of Mt. Hood. In addition to excellent physical fitness, participants must have mountaineering experience involving significant travel over snow and ice before registering for this course. Glacier travel experience is recommended but not required, and participants must have experience with ice axes and crampons. Participants may also register for our Mt. Hood Mountaineering Skills Course to meet the prerequisites or prove similar experience of education from a reputable source in the past 3 years. Please contact us if you are unsure whether you meet the prerequisites.
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- Practice management of personal layers and equipment systems while in an alpine environment.
- Gear packing and equipment choices
- Putting your skills into practice
- Practice steep snow climbing techniques.
- Experience the rigors of 4,500 feet of ascent and descent.
- Develop new relationships with like-minded people.
- Learn something new about yourself and your ability to overcome adversity.
- Practice management of personal layers and equipment systems while in an alpine environment.
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- Professional instruction from full-time mountaineering instructors
- Land management fees
- All group climbing equipment
- 2:1 client/instructor ratio
- Professional instruction from full-time mountaineering instructors
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- Personal clothing, climbing, and camping gear
- Lunches, snacks, water carrying capacity
- Transportation. However, Kaf will assist in organizing a carpool. See further details below.
- Guide gratuity
- Personal clothing, climbing, and camping gear
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You will receive a full packing list following registration of your Mount Hood guided climb, but please feel free to contact us with any gear or equipment specific questions you have. A brief list of what you will need to provide for yourself:
- Personal climbing gear: Backpack, helmet, harness, carabiners, mountaineering boots, ice tools, and crampons
- Weather-appropriate clothing
- Personal climbing gear: Backpack, helmet, harness, carabiners, mountaineering boots, ice tools, and crampons
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Transportation and times will be coordinated by email when the pre-trip announcement is sent to all registrants.
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After your Mount Hood guided climb, consider joining us for any of our other Mountaineering: Guided Climbs, Alpine Climbing Course, and Ice Climbing: Beginner courses. You may enjoy one of our Mount Baker or Mount Rainier guided climbs.
