At 90, a Climber Attempts His 43rd Mt. Hood Ascent

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. — Charles Loveland was 12 when he first ascended Oregon’s highest peak. That was in 1919.

Forty-two ascents later, Loveland says that when he’s on top of Mt. Hood, he doesn’t have a care in the world.

Now 90, the legally blind climber tried to capture that sensation for the 43rd time July 16. But soft snow came up to his knees at every step, forcing him to turn around at Devil’s Kitchen, about 1,000 feet from the summit.

It was, he said, the “most miserable, difficult yet pleasant” climb of his long life.

It’s been 27 years since Loveland last climbed Mt. Hood. And even though the routes up the mountain are the same, Loveland is weighed down by age, lack of sight and--on his latest attempt--poor snow conditions.

Climbing up was like doing about 1,000 pull-ups, said Matthew Hampton, a 28-year-old guide who accompanied Loveland. Potholes created by previous hikers had iced over and then filled with snow, so the climbers needed ice axes to haul themselves up. That was a first for Loveland, who used to wear only spiked shoes to climb the 11,240-foot peak.

Loveland has climbed almost every peak in the Cascade Range, except for Three-Fingered Jack and Mt. Washington, which he regards as too dangerous.

He climbs for the “sport, not to become a statistic,” he said.

He also has scaled mountains all over the United States and Canada, even venturing as far as the Swiss Alps.