"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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SpiderSavage - Jul 9, 2009 12:58 am Date Climbed: Sep 7, 1977
Sweet PeakA fine day and a lovely challenging hike. Did it with one busted crampon. Full Snow cover. Solo. No sun glasses: Developed a nasty case of sunburned eyeballs (snowblind). Climbed it again in July 1981 with my Mom.
tanner921 - Jul 7, 2009 6:29 pm Date Climbed: Jun 21, 2009
With some Old GoatsWent up he South Spur with my Dad, Matt Eells and Dan Biddle. Took up my snowboard and cached it at Pikers. Shreded down from there after the summit to the LC- Fun, too short. The glissading was fun a storm chased us off the mountain.
Vinny - Jul 2, 2009 7:14 pm Date Climbed: Jun 27, 2009
ski descentcharged up with Oyvind (in his sneakers- wish I had mine- decent steps the whole way up- would have avoided my blister).
tried to slow down to let SW chutes soften but still firm when we were ready to descend so we started SE and then pieced together the snow tongues.
great day
mcpherma - Jun 23, 2009 5:52 pm Date Climbed: Jun 23, 2009
Loving it.Climbed in and out of the clouds and camped at the lunch counter. Got up at 3am, started climbing at about 0345 and summited at about 0645.Summit day weather was AWSOME with unbelievable views of Rainier, St Helens, Hood, Jefferson, and if you looked closely, Sisters. My first solo on one of the big ones. Very cool, even if it was the south route.
Deltaoperator17 - Jun 22, 2009 3:02 pm Date Climbed: Jun 21, 2009
That was FUN!Hiked up the #183 to just below the Lunch Counter, made camp followed a Mountain Goat around for 30 minutes. Next morning, pushed up to Pikers and the Summit. Very good Glisade down- Perfect snow. My Son Snowboarded down from Pikers Peak. Perfect Fathers day gift.
kerphuphul - May 27, 2009 4:49 pm Date Climbed: May 23, 2009
Unreal weatherSouth route. Parked 4 miles from TH. Camped at Lunch Counter. Summit at 12:15pm. Hardly a breath of wind - near-perfect weather both days (a little haze). Great to see Rainier at the summit. Great glissade back to lunch counter - kept up with the skiers. Using GPS helped us cut a few switchbacks on the trail/road (all snow-covered). Back to jeep by 8pm. Double Mountain Brewery by 10:00. Home by 1:00am.
Next time I'm going to go up with a split-board and skins. Which would cut down on the time and energy - making it possible to be done in a day.
bfrench - Apr 28, 2009 12:26 am
AdamsSkied standard route with Katie and CW.
NCclimber - Mar 15, 2009 6:00 pm Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2007
We'll be backChased off at 7000' by weather. We'll pad an extra day in next time.
Merlin736 - Mar 6, 2009 9:35 pm
Great experience!Climbed via standard Suksdorf Ridge Route in August. A long drive from Seattle. Camped at Trout Lake the night before and drove to trail head at first light. While driving, we saw a young black bear rear up on its hind legs in the forest, look at us, and then run away. Blowing dust on the lower slopes. Beyond false summit, got blasted with strong wind and saw gaping crevasse below. Reminded me of a lunar scape. The scree pumice on the final summit slope was as soft as butter. 8 hrs 15 minutes from parking lot to parking lot; next time we hope to take it slower. Didn't use ice axe or crampons though one of my minimalist friends once topped Adams in a tennis shoe and a Teva sandle.
skydiver777 - Mar 5, 2009 5:09 pm Date Climbed: Jul 19, 2008
The second of threeMy friend Gary and I climbed the South Spur Route in two days. The mountain got 200% snow fall that winter so the access road was closed 4 miles from the trail head. That sucked. Long hike in the first day. Camped at the Breakfast table. Summit morn, the top of the Mt was socked in by fast moving clouds from 9,000 ft up. We waited until 7:30 for our summit push. We relyed on wands and GPS to get us to the top. High winds, 60-70 mph, about 25 degrees. Found the summit Stick, Took pict/video hiked down to the false summit. It cleared up by then. Glasaded the next 3,000 down to our camp. Oh Yeah. Packed up and hiked down to the trail head. By then, I was tired of hiking in my double plastics. Oh Crap, four more miles of snow covered roads to get to the car. Made it, and went to find a large Pizza. Then onto Mount St. Helens.
Mark Straub - Mar 1, 2009 11:47 pm Date Climbed: Aug 25, 2008
High WindsIt was a great trip, although we were not successful. We spent the night at Lunch Counter and headed up for a summit push in the morning. We left at 3:30 a.m., and a long and tough push up the mountain got us to Piker's Peak at 6:45. Winds of about 70mph and ice drove us back down (We did not have crampons with us.) Nevertheless, a fun trip to be on.
farrisgl - Feb 28, 2009 1:53 am Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2002
Southside Spur RouteI had climbed Rainier the previous week as part of an expedition training course and when in the PacNorWest looked to another peak. Camped out below the Lunch Table, then up the southside spur route the next day. Very little snow made for slow going on the scree / loose rooks. Weather was spotty for most of the day. Final 200 wind blowing with limited visability. Reached the summit house, found the signin box on the back side, took a quick self portrait and headed down. Weather cleared a bit to reveal a decent view.
justing - Jan 27, 2009 4:45 pm Date Climbed: Jul 2, 1999
First cascade peakWill always be a memorable climb for me as it was right before I moved to Chicago for grad school.
sassyplatt - Jan 24, 2009 7:02 pm Date Climbed: Jul 2, 2005
South sideNice climb with the kids, fine glissading.
sourstraw - Jan 13, 2009 12:46 am Date Climbed: Jul 14, 2007
North CleaverRocky, lots of scree ... base camp is spectacular. Fun climb! way less crowded than the south side, but no glissading down!
oregonmtnman - Dec 11, 2008 12:02 am Date Climbed: Aug 15, 2005
South Side RouteMade summit with Chemeketans out of Salem, Oregon. Beautiful weather and fantastic mountain. Awesome glissades, very fast.
Curtissimo - Dec 8, 2008 9:22 pm Date Climbed: Jul 11, 1996
PAH-TO: sacred mountain of the YakamaGreatest glissades ever! Yakama name for peak (PAH-TO)so much more accurately describes its nobility and beauty.
Ianhboom - Dec 3, 2008 4:04 pm Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2006
South SpurClimbed it solo. Perfect day. Only saw 3 other people all day. Took 12 hours round trip. Good trip! Will do it again!
dresser - Oct 14, 2008 4:50 pm Date Climbed: Oct 13, 2008
Columbus Day South SpurVery windy at the top. Snowy from about 8500 feet from previous weekend snowstorm. Crampons highly recommended from lunch counter up.
oso1212 - Sep 15, 2008 1:00 am Date Climbed: Sep 13, 2008
South SideDidn't need crampons. Great weather.