(Mount Hood) King Creek Ridge

On June 4, we headed up King Creek Ridge with the intention of climbing Mount Hood.  The ascent route goes up along King Creek Ridge, which is a popular day hike with a great trail.  You then drop down off the ridge onto a treed saddle between King Creek Ridge and Mount Hood.  The route then goes up a meadow and scree covered ramp before reaching the rocky gullys that lead to the col between Mount Hood and Mount Brock.  The final leg of the summit journey is to scramble up steep slab along the summit ridge.

This route is rated F - 3rd class.  That means the use of hands is needed to move up and there is some exposure.  There is a more detailed description of the scramble ratings on the 20 Peaks in 2023 page in the menu above.  This was to be our first F - 3rd class.  The last three we've done have been F - 2nd class.  

Bumping up the difficulty level made me a bit nervous.  I researched the route as thoroughly as I could, reading the guide books and the websites of other folks who have climbed it.  I also studied the FATMAP app which has the route marked clearly and seems to be consistent with the route taken by recent summiters.

Despite this preparation, we decided to turn around at the top of King Creek Ridge and not attempt to climb Mount Hood.  As you'll see in the photos below, it became clear that this route would not be suitable for the dogs.  I was thinking on Mount Rundle and on Mount Sparrowhawk that the dogs probably would not do well on more difficult terrain.  I wasn't sure if Mount Hood would be too difficult for them so we brought them along.  Today confirmed it is.