Grab some gear. You name the price at the Explore Auctions. Looking northward at the Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier and the remains of Mount St. Helens, he closed his eyes like a fierce warrior preparing for battle. It didn't take long to find the inner peace he needed to maneuver from the summit of Hood - gaining mental equilibrium comes easily in a place so close to the heavens. Even if he didn't spend much time on top, Cummings was right.
Mt. Hood is a majestic wonder against which few North American mountains compare.
But from Hood's apex, you feel like you're standing on top of the world. The Columbia River, and for that matter civilization, looks surreal some two miles below. What makes Hood so special is that it is so extraordinarily skiable. Enormous moisture-laden clouds roll in off the Pacific and dump some 350 inches of snow on Hood every year. Best of all, a sizable portion of that falls between May and October, meaning die-hard locals never really put their skis away for the season.