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Hi,

I'm looking for a route recommendation for Hood or Adams (flying into Portland) over Labor Day weekend. Steep snow and easy-to-moderate ice. Would prefer a glacier route and will not be bringing rock pro.

Did Fuhrer Finger on Rainier that time last year and dealt with rockfall (mostly due to a late start), rotten snow, and messy glaciers. I figure that's par for the course by September.

Anyone find a good time on the snow late August?


Thanks!
michael

metal4lyf wrote:Hi,

I'm looking for a route recommendation for Hood or Adams (flying into Portland) over Labor Day weekend. Steep snow and easy-to-moderate ice. Would prefer a glacier route and will not be bringing rock pro.

Did Fuhrer Finger on Rainier that time last year and dealt with rockfall (mostly due to a late start), rotten snow, and messy glaciers. I figure that's par for the course by September.

Anyone find a good time on the snow late August?


Thanks!
michael

There are some routes that should be ROCK-fall free, but I don't know if serac-fall is much of an improvement..

For what it's worth, I've climbed Hood's Old Chute in late August (and will be again this year, twice), and there's definitely rockfall, but it's pretty dodge-able. Just get an early start, keep your head up, and stay out of the runnels.

Your question was clearly and abundantly answered over on CascadClimbers by many knowledgeble climbers. You got sound advice. Your experience on Kautz does not translate to other volcanoes. There are no steep routes on Adams or Hood that are guraranteed, or even likely to be rock fall free during Labor Day weekend. If you get a couple of strong storms and and a hard freeze maybe you'd be ok but that's pretty much rolling the dice. My 0.02: choose something other than the volcanoes. The locals consider the North Cascades to be much cooler than anything on Adams or Hood anyway, Fisher Chimneys on Shuksan would get my vote.

Ben B. wrote:
There are some routes that should be ROCK-fall free

Yup; Adams, South South.

Ben B. wrote:For what it's worth, I've climbed Hood's Old Chute in late August (and will be again this year, twice)

Not to sound snarky, but isn't once a season enough for Hood SS? I can think of a hundred more interesting objectives in late
August.

Not to sound snarky, but isn't once a season enough for Hood SS?

If climbing solely for the joy of it, or "because it's there," or whatever, then I'd say once a lifetime is probably adequate. At least for the Old Chute... there are other interesting routes up the south side I'd like to do again someday.

One of these is guiding, the other is for time.

Is Adams South skiable at this time? Any ski beta is greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Bill

I just got back from there. Looks skiable. Not amazing, definitely not all the way down. I cut west, though. So I wasn't near the south face. There were skiiers up there, not many, though.

Kind of funny, this is about the best shot I have of the south face. Lol. But there are the chutes, clearly displayed in the photo, form the false summit. I will say I do not believe you can ski from the peak to the lunch counter without hitting at least some rock.

Kyle, thanks for the info and the photo.

Ben B. wrote:

Not to sound snarky, but isn't once a season enough for Hood SS?

If climbing solely for the joy of it, or "because it's there," or whatever, then I'd say once a lifetime is probably adequate. At least for the Old Chute... there are other interesting routes up the south side I'd like to do again someday.

One of these is guiding, the other is for time.

There are peaks I try to do at least once a year (Chair Peak in winter and The Tooth and mountains I try to do once a year but by different routes (Baker and Rainier). There is definitey the 'its fun, near by, low commitement' thing (Chair and the Tooth) and there is always someone who wants to be guided up these mts. Its all good fun until some breaks an arm.

kylenicolls wrote:I just got back from there.

You happen to get any pics from the SE corner of the 'tain? Mazama Glacier to be specific..

ExcitableBoy wrote:Your question was clearly and abundantly answered over on CascadClimbers by many knowledgeble climbers. You got sound advice.

I posted here first.

The (initial) advice I got over at CC rings to the same tune that newbies at 14ers.com are met with: "You're planning what? DON'T YOU KNOW MOUNTAINS ARE DANGEROUS!?" So please forgive my suspicion. But you're right, I think I got some solid feedback as well.


Cheers
michael

Ben B. wrote:You happen to get any pics from the SE corner of the 'tain? Mazama Glacier to be specific..

Sorry I missed that, Ben B. But to answer, thats a negative. One of these days, maybe. Hoping to get a real job in the Pacific NW.

IMHO stay off the Mazama glacier in late summer. Crevases start to appear and it's not worth the trouble to go around them.

That's what my climbing instructor told me.

billisfree wrote:IMHO stay off the Mazama glacier in late summer. Crevases start to appear and it's not worth the trouble to go around them.

That's what my climbing instructor told me.

It was good this summer... 8/19. The big crevasse/burgshrund thing at the top of the headwall was a bit of a surprise and unnerving, but everything else was very easily passable