Mt Hood via old chute

4.5 miles of hiking • 3000' elevation gain •

First summit, second attempt. After a cold, windy night in the parking lot, we set out around 2am for the summit. The cloud level remained near the 6000' level the entire time which left the sky clear albeit in the low 20's by the time we reached the hogsback. We ended up taking the old chute route thru the 1 O'clock couloir. 50' or so from the top my iPhone slipped out of my pocket and bounced 800' below into the Hot Rocks fumarole where it remains. It's a little unnerving when you realize the fall line takes you directly into a giant pit of poison gas. Gulp. Pretty cool all in all.