So it's interesting these Alpine
climbs that start at midnight,
one 2:00 o'clock in the morning.
They can have a a definite effect
on your psyche, and so that's
part of the adventure, I think.
An Alpine start at the timberline
parking lot combines sleep deprivation
with an overflow of
adrenaline somewhere up there.
In the darkness sleeps Mount Hood or
is known by its Native American name.
Why East, I see the pickets.
The plan is to summit Mount Hood
and over the weekend it did snow.
I don't know between 5 and
10 inches up in the crater,
so environment as always. I'm amber.
I just like to be vigilant and assess as
we go. I meet four members of Portland
Mountain rescue who wear many impressive.
Helmets Teresa del Seger,
a former corporate VP ER doctor
Jenna Wiley and firefighter EMT
Haley Dukatz led by rescue leader
and biology professor Paige Baucher.
I'm a rescue leader with PMR,
so I'll be leading this team.
Are you green, amber or
red with my leadership?
Great green. Green,
green if everyone would like to
put their beacon into search mode,
you're gonna read the numbers out and
they should be getting slow. 161309
final safety checks and 1st
footsteps on crunching snow.
Make what's about to happen.
Very real. Alright John,
how you feeling about the plan? I'm going
to go green because of who I'm
with and I'm also going to go
Amber because of who you're with.
This South side route is the most common.
The climbers trail is groomed by
snow cats giving us a nice lane up
to the top of the Palmer chair lift.
After a few hours the mountains
cathedral like features appear
for above the Palmer Chair lift
just past Illumination Rock.
And I'm looking up at Crater Rock.
There's my awesome team up there
dragging me up the mountain slowly. It's
crampons from here on out and it gets steep.
No, hood is not just a walk up mountain.
It's not a hike. It's not a backpack,
and it requires comfort with using
crampons and ice ACS. It requires
hazard reading and risk mitigation.
Hugs back.
Just got above Devil's Kitchen.
And what do you know?
Little sunshine peeking
into the crater for us,
this little area over here is from
rural sections called Hot Rocks.
The Hogs back
is a Ridge of snow with volcanic vents
called fumaroles on either side.
The sulfuric aroma is strong up
here and you do not want to fall
and slide into one of these vents.
PMR has made many rescues here.
And so if you fall in,
you can be looking at like
upwards of like a 50 foot vertical
fall onto rock down below you.
And then you're trapped in this
cylinder of snow and poisonous gases.
This is really the only place
definitely in North America,
if not the world where there are active
funerals on such a popular climbing route.
Use this as my mirror.
For my lesson from last week,
I got roasted.
The most technical part of
the climb begins as the goal
comes into view good footwork
and focus carries you up.
Teresa captured these photos showing
the size and scale of the mountain.
Looking back to the South.
If we are on the bergschrund
and what a bergschrund is,
it's a place in the glacier where the
glacier actually pulls away from the rocks.
It's it's extremely well filled
in right now, so we are building
a spot here for to rope you in.
Basically, Haley
prepares to set pickets for me,
so I don't go from climber to
liability where we're standing is a
short traverse away from the pearly
gates and notice pages hoop earrings.
It's a vibe I will forever strive for
is rope, flaked it is. Well,
I I had it on a pretty good coil
so I think it should be good to go
as the sun beats down. It drains you,
yeah and thaws out other dangers.
There's rhyme ice coming
down so yeah I see
it ice ice and once that sun
starts hitting it it starts to
loosen it up and big biggest.
I think me the biggest danger on
this route is the rock and ice
fall for a minute it
threatens to turn us back, OK?
And I can see someone knocking
that down. Copy that. OK, good
come on. No, if you just go straight up, we
push up to the right shoe of the
pearly gates where you're surrounded
by wind blown rhyme ice. It's stunning,
but imagining chunks of it falling
off as you climb isn't very fun.
OK, mountaineering is a very specific
activity and it takes something special.
All the guts and focus and determination
and concentration and faith and hope and
all the things that life throws at you.
Pushing through,
getting up after a fall.
And the exhaustion melted away by
satisfaction, taking in the view,
wasn't what I'll take away.
It's the makeup of this
selfless team of strong women.
Historically, mountain
Rescue doesn't have a lot
of women involved in it,
and I am incredibly proud of this
training class because we have
such incredibly strong women.
I mean, the three that
you went up with today,
incredibly strong women,
and we're all volunteers.
We show up because we want to
give to this team and and that's
a pretty powerful statement.
I think
White East means different
things to different people,
and I have a new respect.
For what that is, you may climb it,
but you'll never conquer
it thanks to these pros,
I got home safely and many more have,
too, because of PMR,
you can be strong, you can be
confident you can be tough.
You can be kind and compassionate
all at the same time and that will
be appreciated and recognized. Who?