Intro
Mount Hood is Oregon’s highest peak and one of the most climbed alpine summits in the world. Located about 70 miles east of Portland in the Cascade Range, the volcano is heavily glaciated on all sides.
The South Side Route—often nicknamed the “Dog Route” or “Slog Route”—is among the most popular glaciated climbs anywhere. While the route is technically straightforward in good conditions, it still presents serious objective hazards. A commonly cited estimate suggests roughly 10,000 people attempt Mount Hood each year, with most ascending via the South Side Route from Timberline Lodge.
The climb traditionally begins at Timberline Lodge (~5,900 ft), about 5,300 vertical feet below the summit. Although the ski area prefers climbers use a trail along skier’s right side of the resort, many parties simply head directly uphill beneath the lift line. Continue straight up the mountain toward the right side of Crater Rock, a prominent volcanic outcrop. Above it lies a saddle between Crater Rock and the summit ridge known as the Hogsback. There are fumaroles here.
For us, the Hogsback ridge was not very well defined in May 2026. (After posting this report on instagram and getting some feedback/comments, it seems like the general consensus is that the Hogsback ridge is mostly a thing of the past. Perhaps this is due to changing thermal activity in the area, receeding snow, or changing wind patterns.)
From here, climbers choose between the narrow gully above the Hogsback called the Pearly Gates or a chute to the left known as the Old Chute. When we climbed the route, nearly everyone was using the Old Chute. The bergschrund above the Hogsback—which must be crossed to reach the Pearly Gates when it is not well bridged by snow—looked open and problematic, and the Pearly Gates themselves appeared a bit gnarly. At least under our conditions, the Old Chute seemed to have become the standard option. Perhaps the Pearly Gates is used in different times of year. (Late-season conditions in the Old Chute may require traversing a short knife-edge ridge.)
At the top of the Old Chute, we continued a short distance to the summit ridge and then angled right to the true summit.
After tagging the summit, we reversed the route. The snow was already becoming quite soft during our descent, even though we returned to the car just before 9:30 a.m., so we were happy to have started early for easier and safer conditions.
We left Bend shortly after midnight and started hiking just after 3 a.m. from the parking lot near Timberline Lodge. It took us 3 hours 43 minutes to climb the 5,300 feet to the summit. We were over an hour faster on the descent, for a 6 hour 26 minute car-to-car round trip.
Afterward, we checked out Timberline Lodge before driving back to Bend, arriving around noon—though it somehow felt closer to dinnertime.
There were hundreds of people on the route thanks to beautiful weather, perfect conditions, and Memorial Day weekend. We did not rope up and each carried a single ice axe for the final steep snow section. Somehow, we ended up passing everyone during both the ascent and descent of the Old Chute. Admittedly, we moved through the section fairly quickly, since the biggest hazard seemed to be the possibility of a slipping climber—or even an entire rope team—taking others out. Fortunately, nothing like that happened, and we found ourselves to be the first party descending the lower mountain.
This page includes a route overlay, map, time statistics, and photos. What a great morning!
