Descent from Hood

Had quite a bit of trouble formatting last night's entry, that along with fatigue led me to cut the session short. Have a few more photos from the descent below. The descent was actually quiet interesting because the temperature rose quite rapidly causing the snow to soften considerably and the wind also picked up quite a bit. (about 50mph at times)

A cocky Stacy and a relieved John safely down just below the dangerous portion of the summit.

Beautiful sunrise for our descent

Stacy feeling good and glad to be heading down.

Halfway down in front of Illumination Rock

John with guide, also named John, as weather turns bad. Couldn't have asked for a better leader for our trip.

Stacy no longer as happy as winds pick up to about 50mph

Mood improves as cloud lifts and winds die down. At this point we were able to switch from hiking boots to skis and the descent was much more fun.

Stacy heading for home and the hot tub.

Looking back up at the impressive storm we had just come through, totally obscuring the mountain above.

John enjoying a "post-hike" dip in the timberline lodge pool with Mt Hood in the background.

The swim marked the end of a fantastic day. Highlight was the dramatic turnaround of the weather on top. We went from total white out with a forced turnaround to clear skies with a summit in about 15 minutes. Many thanks to my buddies in small group, Jimmy, Mike, Greg, Chris and Greg, for their prayers that turned the tide for us. As we were sitting on the Hogsback, waiting for the weather to clear, they were back in Cape at "My Daddy's Cheesecake" at our usual Thursday morning meeting. I sent them a text for them to pray for a break in the clouds and the next thing you know it was a go. As my friend Jerry Stone wrote in his comment, "If the Lord takes you to it, He'll get you through it."