Will set out to climb Mount Hood with his brother Daniel and friend Nick this past weekend. They got up around 3:00 am and arrived at the base of the moutain with all of their gear - ice picks, cramp-ons, skis, nightlamps.
Will remembered everything except for his hiking boots. Poor guy - he ended up climing 6 miles up a mountain in his ski boots. If you know how stiff and non-flexable ski boots are, then you can feel his pain.
The purpose of arriving at the base of the mountain so early in the morning is for a couple of reasons. First of all, the snow is still nice and hard when it is dark without the sun hitting it. This prevents the snow melting and being too soft - which can cause accidents (climbers falling into cravases and snow drifts). The other reason is for the view of the sunrise at the top of the mountain.
Above: Will calling Jenni on his cellphone
I was worried that Will was going to fall into a cravas or something, so like a good fiance/future husband, he made sure to call me several times throughout their trek to assure me that he was safe. Don't worry - the other two guys also had to call their wives as well, so I wasn't the only one who made this request.
Below: Jenni's fear - a cravas. Will - please don't fall in one!
Below: The sun just starting to come up - beautiful!
Below: Nick and Daniel
Below: Getting close to the summitt - you can see the line of people following the steep trail to the top. To get a better idea of just how steep this was, see the following picture after this one.
Above: Nick almost reaching the summitt, with Will not too far behind
Below: Ahhhh the summitt!
Above: Will at the sumitt 
Above: A view of Mt. Adams from the top of Mt. Hood Below: Will's shins and feet were killing him from hiking in his ski boots, so he took a little well-deserved break before having to ski back down to the base.
And back down they go! 
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