In early march, my buddy and I decided to take a quick trip up hood. The conditions sounded optimal, but there was bad weather on the horizon. After waiting a few days for the thunderstorms to clear, we found ourselves signing in at the climbing register late one night.

Cold temps kept the snow firm and we had to don crampons almost immediately. Just before dawn we arrived at Cater Rock and then pushed up past the bergschrund crevasse – which had recently opened. Snow was firm and the conditions stayed optimal through the final assent. At the top, my buddy even blessed us (and a few other people at the peak) with some freshly brewed coffee.

The snow softened on the way down, but this made for a lovely, rare glacade.