"After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, which is the most horrible thing in the world."
--Oscar Wilde on Absinthe
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paule - Jul 7, 2003 3:20 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: July 6, 2003I could not have asked for a better weekend to climb Adams. To our great surprise, there were much fewer people there than expected. We had the best camp area for our 4 sites with a stream of water running in between us, and literally no one else around us. What more could you ask for? We had anticipated an insane crowd, but the only people on the mountain consisted of 3 other camps that were about 1000 feet below us. There were late starters headed for the summit, but we were on our way down by then.
The weather was very clear and hot. In the afternoon, our camp's temp hit a scorching 98 degrees. Too hot for me. The strong wind gusts helped cool me down. We counted no more than 20 other people on, or even near the summit. I guess it is hit and miss with the crowds. (Ranger said 400 registered climbers were on the mountain the weekend before.) The snow was a little nice and hard on the way up, and was just beginning to soften up a bit on our glissade down.
cmc56789 - Jun 28, 2003 8:05 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: June 28, 2003This is by far the most crowded mountain i have climbed to date. I saw well over 100 people climbing up as i was descending and still more in the parking lot getting ready. In spite of this I was still the first one to summit and had the sunrise all to myself. It was very windy at the top, and without a single cloud in the sky was able to see from the sisters to the North Cascades. The shadow cast by the mountain at sunrise was beautiful and was the biggest I have ever seen. The descent was a little tricky since the snow was too icy to glissade. I had to slowly make my way down a rocky ridge until the snow softened up a little bit. A very fun climb, but i would reccomend going mid-week to avoid the crowds.
Jerry L - Jun 21, 2003 6:06 am
Route Climbed: Mazama Glacier Date Climbed: June 16, 2003Did a (4) day trip. Spent (3) nights sleeping out of the tent with beautiful stars and full moon. It was a great climb with great weather.
mradventure - Jun 20, 2003 11:03 pm
Route Climbed: South Climb Date Climbed: June 20, 2003My brother and I left Coldsprings Campground at 3:30 am. The stars were shining bright, the snow was solid, and parts of the trail covered in snow were illuminated by the moon. As the sun rose over Suksdorf Ridge, it appeared that there was not a cloud surrounding Mt. Adams. The cold wind blew over and down the west ridge while we hiked up Crescent Glacier. Large cornices on the ridge to the west of Crescent Glacier posed a threat as the sun warmed the snow throughout the day. The wind increased to about 50-60 mph as we made our way up to the summit but not a cloud above us. The lower surrounding landscape seemed to be covered with a blanket of white, fluffy cotton balls. As we descended, the clouds moved in and snow showers followed. All in all, the hike was very rewarding even if it was an exhausting 12 hours.
Martin Cash - Jun 16, 2003 11:55 am
Route Climbed: Northwest Ridge, North Face of Northwest Ridge, and part of the Pinnacle Headwall coming up, NFNWR and NW Ridge coming down Date Climbed: June 15, 2003Jerry, Kay, and I summited about 10:00 AM and had quite the eye opening experience. Trip Report is here:Avoiding Disaster on Adam's Northwest Side.
leejams - Jun 10, 2003 10:11 pm
Route Climbed: South rte Date Climbed: 6/8/03Hot weekend, cool climb.
MikeB - Mar 9, 2003 5:09 pm
Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: May, 1993, 1994, 1995Great ski run, maybe best in the country.
big_g - Mar 3, 2003 6:12 pm Date Climbed: Sep 19, 2002
Route Climbed: South Climb Trailwoohoo
jhalz - Jan 23, 2003 8:30 am
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: August 1, 2002Packed into Lunch Counter on Day 1, weather was outstanding. I'd recommend looking at the bivy sites to the south of Lunch Counter. As the sun disappeared, the wind began to blow. I'd guess 50-60 mph. This made for a sleepless night in my REI Half-Dome Plus tent.
Got a late start and were a little slow going, wish there would have been more snow coverage. I think that I'll go earlier in the season next season. Summited around 1pm. Spent 30 mins on the summit. Has a nice slide down from Pikers Peak to Lunch Counter.
iandoten - Dec 17, 2002 9:24 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: September 17 2001A long slog. First Cascade volcano summit. Great views, look forward to snowboard descent in future.
GAZOOBIE - Dec 10, 2002 7:01 pm
Route Climbed: Mazama Glacier Date Climbed: July 1979Proud graduate of the past Mount Adams Wilderness Institute (MAWI). Just a great experience. Helped me start a love of mountains that still continues today. Thank you Darryl Lloyd.
jasonconnell - Dec 5, 2002 10:36 am
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: 4 Summits between 96-98My first real mountain. Snowboarded off the summit on one attempt.
Dulton - Nov 12, 2002 9:54 pm
Route Climbed: Shuksdorf Ridge Route Date Climbed: August 13th 2001Fun day hike, although, too many people on the summit. Great views of Rainier and the lower South Cascades. Would like to climb via one of the glaciers one day tho.....
schitthaedt - Nov 4, 2002 6:19 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: November 2, 2002Beautiful, clear day, rare for this time of year. The skrie slope up to Piker's Peak is the least enjoyable part of this climb, especially if you break "trail," as I found out. I'm glad I brought my crampons because the glacier covering the saddle was pure slick ice and I watched another guy take a spill. I actually enjoyed the soft skrie on the way down, it was easier on the knees and I almost felt like I was skiing my way down. I hiked from exactly dawn to dusk, which turned out nicely. The hike was pretty exhausting--I live at sea level, and while I was able to ascend about 2000 ft/hr up to the lunch counter, I hit my wall at about 10,000 feet and didn't summit until 1:00 pm (started at 6:30).
fastandlight - Nov 2, 2002 9:51 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: july 10, 2001Great climb on a beautiful. The false summit was really nasty on the way up, but it still made for a great climb. If I had to do it again I might take some skis to speed the descent. Glissading down was fun though. I would also note that a 4X4 vehicle is almost mandatory for the approach to the cold springs trailhead.
Martin Cash - Oct 31, 2002 5:01 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: September 8, 2002The route was almost completely melted out; lots of scree. Not too windy but cloudy at the summit. Not very steep at all, but a lot of distance to cover in 1 day. Took me about 13 hours roundtrip. I'll be back next year for a harder route and more snow!
cjwhat - Oct 18, 2002 9:06 am
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: September 6, 1998Long slog completed w/my brother, Mike.
rmjwinters - Oct 5, 2002 9:50 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: July 1998Climbed in one day with a water bladder accident. Summit was cold and windy, but afforded beautiful views.
Otomax - Sep 29, 2002 1:30 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: September, 20, 2002Camped at the Lunch Counter Thursday night were we encountered very high winds. At the time it seemed improbably that we would summit the following day. Lots of frustrating scree to wade through up to Piker's Peak which made it difficult. More high winds up at the false summit and above but nothing compared to the night before at the Lunchcounter. I would have prefered more snow but it was a fine climb.
Spud - Sep 16, 2002 1:49 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: September 8, 2002Pretty dry up there. I must have bad luck in the Cascades as this was my second summit there and I've still yet to have a clear or even remotely clear day. Entire cap was engulfed in cloud when I got to the top. Took my token photo at the Geological survey marker. Didn't realize there was a register at the old hut...
Scree slopes were loads of fun on the way up and sucked big time on the way down. It's amazing I didn't twist my ankle.
Humped up my tent and set up shop at the lunch counter. Good water supply in a glacial runoff - next time I'm bringing my filter though as it took way too long to melt and boil. Snow greeted us that night shortly after tent was erected. New tent and it held up well.
Didn't put on my crampons or ice axe for this mission. It was boots and poles all the way up and all the way down. Wish I had known as it was alot of extra weight to hump about...
Story and photos to come - watch for my website at www.spudstravels.com