What cascaded into a two-week foray into the serene wilderness of central Oregon began on the shores of Lake Michigan in bleak December. Over the next couple of months it was decided. Four climbers from four different origins would unite in Portland in late May. Chris Vittoz, an economist from Chicago. Bob Pollok, a student from the University of Southern Illinois. Gary Vittoz, a consultant from south central Michigan. And Bob Grantsynn, an engineer in New Jersey. Each came with aspirations in mind. Each with something to prove. But enough theatrics, this was no CBS episode of Survivor. The four came to climb mountains, and climb mountains they did. --Bob G.
This was Bob's and Robert's first alpine climb. Chris had climbed South Sister when he was twelve, and it had been twelve years since I had done any climbing.
While camping last winter, my son Chris and I dreamed up this scheme, deciding we should climb Mt. Hood. We had several great winter ski outings in the dunes along Lake Michigan to try out some of the gear we had been purchasing. The dunes and the ice flows on the lake shore made good places to test crampon fittings. Chris and I thoroughly enjoyed the anticipation of our adventure.
We decided on late May as an optimal time for our first try on Mt. Hood. We thought South Sister, with its familiarity and memories would serve well for acclimatization and as a good place for Bob and Robert to become more familiar with their climbing equipment. Unfortunately, the more remote setting for South Sister made access to it harder that early in the season. Our plans to go to Moraine Lake for a base camp proved difficult with deep snow and was complicated by storm that made orienting on the mountain with compass much less than ideal. All this came together to make South Sister a real challenge for all of us,
Go ahead and read our accounts and enjoy the pictures.
--Gary
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