Crossing the Eliot Glacier. The north face route ...
Description
This elegant route is one of the best on the mountain. The crux is catching the line in condition. When the conditions are right, this is a spectacular climb that can have fantastic ice pitches up to WI4.
Begin at Tilly Jane or Cloud Cap campgrounds. Follow marked climber trails through the trees. Moving above timberline climb onto a prominent ridge (the lower part of Cooper Spur) Continue up the ridge until you see a cairn on the right side of the trail marking a subtle path down onto the glacier.
Move up the glacier sticking to the left side and watching for seracs and crevasses. There are several nice ice lines that have been forming on the left side of the Eliot headwall. Continue up the glacier and move right after you near the headwall.
On the right side of the headwall, there are 2 distinct couloirs heading up and diagonally leftward. Both can be climbed, but the right one is usually the more exciting route with more vertical ice.
Move into the gullies and follow them to the summit.
The left gully has a vertical section at its beginning then is pretty much a snow slope to the summit.
The right gully contains 3-4 vertical ice sections with the first two being the most difficult.
Descend Cooper Spur or Sunshine to return to start or descend the south side route and make a car shuttle.
This route can be done most of the year with the exception of when avy conditions are high in winter. However, to get the best conditions you want to climb it sometime in fall after some snow has fallen and then gone through freeze/thaw cycles to form WI on the steep sections. These conditions can also be encountered in the spring as things melt down too but temps can get warm fast causing the route to deteriorate quickly.
More than one climber has climbed the route when it is just a long snow ramp. While still a fun route I would say what makes it my favorite route on the mountain is the WI steps.
Mt. Hood
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