The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-08-31
MOUNT HOOD
CIRCUIT MADE
REMARKABLE HIKE MADE IN DAY
Five Young Men Traverse All Peaks Gla.
ciers and See Band of Noun
tain Sheep or Goats

Mountsineers who have ascended to
the summit of Mount Hood are prob.
ably greater in number than the stren-
uously inclined who have climed any
other mountain in the northwest. But
few, however, have taken the long
jaunt completing a circle Of the base
of the snow peak. Perhaps less than
dozen men in Oregon have taken this
trip.
The complete circle Of Mount Hoods
base was made on Sunday, August 20,
by the following five local young men
Hans and Paul Hoerlein. Will Mar
shall, W. B. Arens and Ned Crawford.
And the strenuous journey was all the
more remarkable in that the men made
the trip, estimated at good Is miles,
in single day.
The journey to Cloud Cap Inn was
made by automobile. From the Inn
the climbers carried camp equipment,
bedding and grub to the very edge of
the snowline near the jutting promon-
tory of Cooper's Spur. While the sun
was setting behind the mountain range
to the west of the Hood River Valley.
the rays still giving a last caress.
however. to the ice cascades and snow.
fields of the peak, making rainbow
fairy lights shine from the gigantic
jewels of nature. the tired mixers
pitched their camp beside the last
windswept trees on the mountain side.
I'VE were up IN the morning at
$780," says Hans Hoerlein. 1--WE
cooked our breakfast of bacon, eggs
and coffee, by the light of a brilliant
moon. Never shall forget the witch
cry of that silvery moonlight on the
mountainside. The wind swept the
gnarled and twisted branches of the
mountain pines and caused them to
toss back and forth on their stubby
trunks. weaving fantastic shadows on
patches Of rock and swonfeld.
'1t was still nighttime when we had
ceased our filling meal, arranged our
packs of ropes and prepared the lunch.
es for the day. While the moonlight
was brilliant, it was deceiving and we
decided to await the more brilliant
sunlight before starting across the
snowfields and glaciers We sat down
to await the coming of Phaeton's car
rige. 1t was a silent party. There
was something about the mysterious
shadows and ghost like glimmerings
there on the mountain side that did not
stimulate conversation.
'It was not long wait, however:
soon the top of Mount Hood began to
glow with rosy light, that very rap
idly swept lower and lower. The
early sunshine seemed to seek out the
blue expanses of ice, that suddenly
shot forth rays of every color. The
peak was soon encompassed by halo,
such as no man made electrical con-
trivances, think, could produce.
Within an incredibly short time the
sunshine was down upon our mile and
half high retreat. and while the
valleys and woodlands beneath. still
dark and gray in the slumber of early
morning, were placidly dreaming. we
started out on our long Journey"
In the deceitful light of the early
morning Mr.. Arens had caught his foot
| in a crevice of sharp rocks. In the
resulting fall the entire sole of one Of
his mountain boots was twisted off.
While sharp stones and pointed ice
crags made the foot very tender before
the day was done, Mr.. Arens made the
entire 15 mile journey soleless.
From Cooper's Spur the party
climbed over the Eliot Glacier. They
declare that some of the most awe in.
spring depths of crevasses and some
of the hugest ice pinnacles we're en-
countered here. Up the course of the
glacier the men. all tied in and with
faces blackened to prevent blistering
| by the suns rays. and the brilliant
reflection from snow and ice, proceeded
as far as.possible up the very crags
that seem to guard Hoods summit.
Then they began their detour around
the peak.
MIR. Hoerlein says that the trip
around Hood is not dangerous or
particularly difficult one. But II takes
all the endurance of husky man to
make it, he declares.
"Our most difficult work was en-
countered. when we reached Reed gla-
cier and turned from a westerly direc-
tion to a southwesterly one. turning
the jagged point there and approaching
| the great snowfields of the south side
of the mountain.
"To look at Mount Hood from the
Hood River valley spectator might
not think one could get lost on the
mountain side." says Mr.. Hoerlein.
"And while we we're not. strictly
speaking lost, when we got into the
deep, jagged canyons of Reed glacier
we entirely lost our bearings. 1t was
then that MIR. Crawford took chances
with his life and climbed an almost
perpendicular wall several feet high
that he might reach a lookout and
determine just which direction we
should take. He made the ascent
safely, but the rest of the party trav-
eled down the glacier and climbed the
northwest ridge of the mountain where
the going was not SO hard.
1--WE made our travelling safe by
using the utmost precaution. A strong
rope ran from man to man. attached to
life belts. This life rope at one time
saved me a long, perilous slide, and
maybe prevented the loss of my life.
We were on a steep point of a glacier
when my feet shot out from under me.
| could not recover myself with my
alpeno stock and away went down the
declivity. With yawning abyss of a
crevass directly below me, the rope
brought me up with jerk. +"
Mr.. Hoerline says that the party
crossed many unique snow bridges that
spanned the ice seams in graceful
arches. The smaller crevasses. he
says, were jumped by the party. Some
of the deeper cracks in the ice fields.
apparently hundreds Of feet thick, for
Mr.. Hoerlein says the crevasses seemed
without bottom. could have been
jumped with ease.
"But we were afraid to try the leaps
and risk plunge into those bottomless
ice pits in case our feet might have
slipped, Says Mr.. Hoerlien.
The party of climbers say that al
certain points Of their journey they
travelled under overhanging boulders
of ice that might have weighed hun
dreds of tons.
"You may we'll guess, says Mr.
Hoerlain s'that We walked rathe