It was very last minute when we decided to head to Hood.  Just couldn't pass up the great weather.

This would be Travis' first attempt, but I didn't give him much of a break on his pack weight.  He carried all his own gear.

This was the farthest I've ever had to hike to reach snow, a simple reminder of just how late in the season we were.

We actually ran into a little traffic as service 4x4s were headed to the base of the upper chairlift.

Who woulda thunk... plant life!

Looking at this photo makes me wish I had longer arms...  eesh... way too close.

They kick the skiers off the mountain before the afternoon sun gets everything all mushy, but they don't stop working it.  Here they're shaping a half-pipe for the snowboarders.  Guess that would make this a quarter-pipe cutter.

Time for a little Harvest bar.  "Dang!  This mountain is bigger than it looked!"

Can we put on our crampons?  It'll help on these rocks... really it will!

Whew.  Finally found some snow. 

We reached the Glacier Splitzen (Bergshrund) around 7:30... We're almost there!

"Can I climb in?"  And he did.

We tried going left around the Splitzen but the route just didn't look very safe.  We watched as a couple of small parties circled to the right and went up steep exposed soft snow.  We could try that, but the Pearly Gates were melted out and the climbers were causing a lot of rock fall that was all directed straight down the route.  The second group nearly got clobbered and climbed back to where we were to wait out the rain of rocks.

We, sadly, decided it this would be our high point.  Just a couple hundred feet from the summit.  Next time we'll hit it earlier in the season.

We watched the sun peak over the crater rim.  Not long after we watched a rock avalanche that carried washing machine sized boulders down to the crater floor.  It was only 8:30 for crying out loud.   That stuff should stay put until afternoon.

It's August 1st and this is the only ski line in the country... no wonder the line is so long.

After spending an hour in The Dalles installing a new serpentine belt on the car, we stopped to watch the kite boarders at John Day... and to take a dip/bath in the river.

One of these day...