Mount Hood is not extinct. Steam vents called fumaroles warm the rocks near the summit, melting caves into the glacier that caps the crater. The last significant eruption occurred around 1790 - within human memory when Lewis and Clark passed below in 1805, noting the fresh volcanic debris. Geologists classify it as 'potentially active,' the most likely volcano in Oregon to erupt again.

But the danger most climbers face isn't volcanic. The mountain's glaciers are riddled with crevasses. Its upper slopes steepen to 60 degrees of hard ice. The infamous 'Pearly Gates' - two towers of volcanic rock that guard the final approach to the summit - funnel climbers through a bowling alley of rockfall and ice chunks loosened by the morning sun. Most summit attempts leave at 2 AM, racing to top out and descend before the mountain warms and the objective hazards multiply.

Palmer Glacier, high on the south slopes, offers the rarest of commodities: reliable summer skiing in the lower 48. From May through September, when other resorts have packed away their lifts, skiers and snowboarders ride the Palmer Snowfield at Timberline Lodge - the only year-round ski area in North America. Olympic and professional teams train here when snow has vanished elsewhere.

The snow accumulation is immense. Timberline averages over 500 inches annually. The historic lodge, built by the WPA in the 1930s, was constructed with its ground floor intended to be buried. And it is, reliably, every winter. The building's iconic silhouette - used as the exterior of the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining' - emerges gradually each spring as crews excavate entrances from drifts that can reach the roofline.

Mount Hood is the second-most-climbed glaciated peak in the world, after Japan's Mount Fuji. On a good spring weekend, hundreds of climbers may attempt the south side route - a 5,000-foot elevation gain from Timberline Lodge to the 11,250-foot summit. Most make it. But the mountain is deceptively dangerous.

The route crosses several glaciers, any of which can harbor hidden crevasses. Above the Palmer, the Hogsback - a narrow snow ridge leading to the summit - offers exposure on both sides. Then come the Pearly Gates, where rockfall and icefall are constant concerns. Success requires an early start, crampon proficiency, and the judgment to turn back when conditions deteriorate. The views from the summit - Rainier to the north, Jefferson to the south, the Columbia River Gorge winding toward the Pacific - reward those who earn them.

Mount Hood anchors the southern end of the Columbia River Gorge, that dramatic gash where the river cuts through the Cascade Range. The mountain's bulk forces weather patterns to split around it, creating the famous gorge winds that make Hood River a world-class windsurfing destination. To the west, Portland's suburbs climb into the foothills. To the east, the landscape abruptly dries into high desert.

The loop drive around the mountain passes through this transition: lush rainforest on the west, then alpine meadows, then open pine forest as you descend toward the Dalles. Waterfalls pour from basalt cliffs. Orchards fill the Hood River Valley - pears, apples, cherries - with the white cone presiding above the blossoms in spring. It's a landscape of contrasts, shaped by the mountain's presence, the river's power, and the rain shadow that divides wet from dry in a matter of miles.

Timberline Lodge is more than a ski resort. Built during the Great Depression as a Works Progress Administration project, it employed local craftsmen who hand-forged ironwork, carved wooden newel posts, wove textiles, and created a masterpiece of Cascadian rustic architecture. The massive stone fireplaces, the hand-hooked rugs, the painted murals - everything was made by hand, providing jobs when jobs were scarce.

Today the lodge operates year-round, its day lodge and restaurant welcoming hikers, skiers, and tourists who simply want to experience the mountain's presence. The Pacific Crest Trail passes within a few hundred yards. Wildflower meadows bloom in the brief alpine summer. And always, the glacier looms above - close enough to touch its cold breath on summer afternoons when the wind shifts downslope, carrying winter into July.