Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: Aug 25, 2002
Camped just below Lunch Counter and experienced a fierce lightning storm followed by a spectacular sunset. Summit day was sunny and warm for the long slog to the top. Great glissading on the way down!
Route Climbed: Mazama Date Climbed: July 13-14, 2003
Climbed with four other friends. We spent the first night just below Sunrise Camp. We roped up for the Mazama but free climbed all the rest of the route up to the false summit after it joined South Spur. The weather turned sour as I was climbing from Pikers Peak to the summit. Two of my friends had made it to the summit just moments before cloud cover blocked the view. According to Brian the wind was so strong that it kept knocking him to his knees. I decided to turn around and not climb the last 600 verticle feet due to no visability. Adams is a big mountain with equally big weather!
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: July 12, 2003
After climbing Mt Hood on Friday July 11th, I drove to Cold Springs campground that same Friday July 11th. Got there at 2:00pm, got all my stuff ready for the next day and went to bed at 3:00pm Friday July 11th. Woke up at 2:00am (Saturday, July 12th) and started hiking by 3:00am. Encountered some rather strong winds on the final slope just before Piker's Peak. The wind did not let up. It was windy all the way to the summit. A couple of times it almost made me lose my balance. I reached the summit at 8:40am. Stayed there for 20 minutes trying to take self-pictures with the howling winds. Left the summit at 9:00am. Took a lunch break near some rocks by Piker's Peak (winds still blowing strong here) and then I cut two holes on a large black trash bag to put my legs through and my butt for the glissade. In less than 15 minutes, I was down by Lunch Rock. This was by far the greatest glissade I've been on. I felt like a bobsledder on the glissade runnels. Then after that, I basically walked back to the trailhead. Was back on my car at 11:35am (8:35 hrs C-T-C).
Route Climbed: South spur Date Climbed: July 11, 2003
Whew, what a big mountain. I hit snow at 6400 feet and that was the norm from then on. Perfect day until I hit the top of Piker's Peak, then the cold artic wind had me putting on all my extra warm clothes. Summitted, and enjoyed the glissade back down to Lunch counter from Pikers peak. It was fun to whiz by those toiling up the slope. A great day. I did this car to car. 3 quarts of water barely enough.
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: July 8, 2003
Did a two day climb wih my friend Rob Vaughn (rvaughn). Left Cold Springs late morning and hiked up to the Lunch Counter for the night. The otherwise warm calm day gave way to increased winds early in the evening. The winds picked up and hammered our tent all night. We awoke to cloudy skies below but a clear summit.
The winds remained strong throughout our climb. Winds were well in excess of 50 mph as we hit the top of Pikers Peak and the only party in front of us turned around. As we descended into the saddle toward the summit the winds subsided slightly.
We hit the summit only preceded by "Marty" who we watched storm up the mountain and pass us just below the summit.
The glissade down from Pikers Peak to Lunch Counter is the best!!
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: July 6, 2003
I 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.
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: June 28, 2003
This 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.
Route Climbed: South Climb Date Climbed: June 20, 2003
My 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.
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, 2003
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: August 1, 2002
Packed 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.
Route Climbed: Mazama Glacier Date Climbed: July 1979
Proud 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.
Route Climbed: Shuksdorf Ridge Route Date Climbed: August 13th 2001
Fun 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.....
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: November 2, 2002
Beautiful, 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).
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: july 10, 2001
Great 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.
jtschanz - Jul 22, 2003 12:44 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: Aug 25, 2002Camped just below Lunch Counter and experienced a fierce lightning storm followed by a spectacular sunset. Summit day was sunny and warm for the long slog to the top. Great glissading on the way down!
iamaclimber - Jul 20, 2003 12:25 pm
Route Climbed: Mazama Date Climbed: July 13-14, 2003Climbed with four other friends. We spent the first night just below Sunrise Camp. We roped up for the Mazama but free climbed all the rest of the route up to the false summit after it joined South Spur. The weather turned sour as I was climbing from Pikers Peak to the summit. Two of my friends had made it to the summit just moments before cloud cover blocked the view. According to Brian the wind was so strong that it kept knocking him to his knees. I decided to turn around and not climb the last 600 verticle feet due to no visability. Adams is a big mountain with equally big weather!
forjan - Jul 14, 2003 6:42 pm
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: July 12, 2003After climbing Mt Hood on Friday July 11th, I drove to Cold Springs campground that same Friday July 11th. Got there at 2:00pm, got all my stuff ready for the next day and went to bed at 3:00pm Friday July 11th. Woke up at 2:00am (Saturday, July 12th) and started hiking by 3:00am. Encountered some rather strong winds on the final slope just before Piker's Peak. The wind did not let up. It was windy all the way to the summit. A couple of times it almost made me lose my balance. I reached the summit at 8:40am. Stayed there for 20 minutes trying to take self-pictures with the howling winds. Left the summit at 9:00am. Took a lunch break near some rocks by Piker's Peak (winds still blowing strong here) and then I cut two holes on a large black trash bag to put my legs through and my butt for the glissade. In less than 15 minutes, I was down by Lunch Rock. This was by far the greatest glissade I've been on. I felt like a bobsledder on the glissade runnels. Then after that, I basically walked back to the trailhead. Was back on my car at 11:35am (8:35 hrs C-T-C).
Dean - Jul 12, 2003 9:33 am
Route Climbed: South spur Date Climbed: July 11, 2003Whew, what a big mountain. I hit snow at 6400 feet and that was the norm from then on. Perfect day until I hit the top of Piker's Peak, then the cold artic wind had me putting on all my extra warm clothes. Summitted, and enjoyed the glissade back down to Lunch counter from Pikers peak. It was fun to whiz by those toiling up the slope. A great day. I did this car to car. 3 quarts of water barely enough.
crirwin - Jul 10, 2003 12:49 am
Route Climbed: South Spur Date Climbed: July 8, 2003Did a two day climb wih my friend Rob Vaughn (rvaughn). Left Cold Springs late morning and hiked up to the Lunch Counter for the night. The otherwise warm calm day gave way to increased winds early in the evening. The winds picked up and hammered our tent all night. We awoke to cloudy skies below but a clear summit.
The winds remained strong throughout our climb. Winds were well in excess of 50 mph as we hit the top of Pikers Peak and the only party in front of us turned around. As we descended into the saddle toward the summit the winds subsided slightly.
We hit the summit only preceded by "Marty" who we watched storm up the mountain and pass us just below the summit.
The glissade down from Pikers Peak to Lunch Counter is the best!!
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.