Mount Hood/Leuthold Couloir

We left Seattle about 9am on Friday and got to Government Camp around 3pm.  Headed up to Illumination Rock saddle to camp, meeting two other parties that were going to do the couloir the next day.  In the same location was a group of 10 young skiers who had built a ski jump ramp in the area and were taking runs until the sun set.

At 2am we started out, easy crossing of the lower Reid Glacier and we had no issue with the bergschrund.  There were some winds, maybe 10 mph from the east, so we were getting some spendthrift coming down at all times, particularly through the hour glass.  However we progressed well on firm snow (lower down we punched through intermittently) as we got higher and reached the upper ridge about 5:30 and the summit at 6am.

Down the old chute as there were literally hundreds of people coming up the Pearly Gates and back to camp by 9am.  At the car by 11:30 or so.  Wonderful climb, weather and day.