Home > Trip Reports > July 5, 2008, Adams south side

July 5, 2008, Adams south side

7/5/08
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
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Posted by Charlie Hagedorn on 7/6/08 12:55am
An intrepid group of six headed to Adams for some turns. To our surprise, the road was open to (dare I say it?) Cold Springs. On the downside, the lowest continuous snow is at the ~6200' level.  Despite our optimistic interpretation of the forecast, the mountain decided that whiteout, wind, and fine, yet copious, precipitation was the order of the day. Two of us decided to savor the whiteout on the Lunch Counter, while the remaining fearless four skinned to the top of Piker's Peak before wisely deciding that the whiteout would make the summit trek treacherous.

    The ski down, on nicely rehydrated corn, was quite good. The Crescent gave up the best turns down from the Counter, while the rest of the group reported pleasant skiing down Piker's. As one might expect, the view from Trout Lake in the late afternoon permitted a clear view of the summit.

    Lots of skiers on the mountain, but the skier/climber ratio is starting to shift to a more summer-like value. As seen from Cold Springs/Trout Lake, the lines on the S/SW/W side all look mighty skiable. I'd guess that any attempt to ski down to Morrison will result in significantly more than a 1/2 mile hike at this time, but it's only a guess.

    Fun trip with a bunch of friendly folk!
Thanks for the timely update.
It is amazing how much snow has melted in the cascades in one week!
Looking forward to our climb tomorrow.
Thanks,
Joe

author=Joedabaker link=topic=10573.msg42896#msg42896 date=1215361324]
Thanks for the timely update.
It is amazing how much snow has melted in the cascades in one week!
Looking forward to our climb tomorrow.
Thanks,
Joe


Might see you there ;).

Ah, yes.  Adams on Saturday.  I spent a couple of hours just below the Lunch Counter waiting for a change in the weather.  Gave up and rode down.  This was the view, thought as you said, the riding was pretty good.

We didn't even leave the parking lot on Saturday. Well at least with skis/boards. We bailed on that idea and just hiked up to just below tree line. Then headed out and hung out in Hood River for the rest of the weekend.

Nice meeting you in the parking lot buell.

Trumpet, did your group of four arrive at Piker's right behind another group of four?  Two guys, two girls, all wet?  If so, pleasure to meet you.  I was the wet one on the left. ;)

Marcus,

Were you the group in the silver/gray Astro Van? My wife and I were the ones on the White VW Vanagon right next to you if it was. I was wondering how you guys were doing. As my previous post said we didn't even leave the car. Every time we went to leave it started raining and a little harder each time. Made it hard to motivate leaving the car.

author=jcocci link=topic=10573.msg42937#msg42937 date=1215445310">
Marcus,

Were you the group in the silver/gray Astro Van? My wife and I were the ones on the White VW Vanagon right next to you if it was. I was wondering how you guys were doing. As my previous post said we didn't even leave the car. Every time we went to leave it started raining and a little harder each time. Made it hard to motivate leaving the car.


Hey, yeah -- we were wondering whether you guys had rallied or not.  It was pretty wet, but we were well into the day before we were finally convinced it wouldn't let up. 


Good to meet you Trumpetsailor and your merry band of skinners.  I didn't get to see anyone ski.  I could hardly see my partner!  We hung out for about 2 hours just getting colder and wetter.  We left right after saying bye to you at the rock ridge.  The snow was nice however.

Thanks for the great info! I'm planning to head up there with some friends this weekend. I'll be on skis. They'll be on foot. How firm was the snow? Did it freeze overnight? I'd hate to take them up there only to watch them wallow in thigh deep slush!

Thanks!

author=ericr link=topic=10573.msg42984#msg42984 date=1215473894]
Thanks for the great info! I'm planning to head up there with some friends this weekend. I'll be on skis. They'll be on foot. How firm was the snow? Did it freeze overnight? I'd hate to take them up there only to watch them wallow in thigh deep slush!

Thanks!


It was nice and firm, with only a few centimeters ski penetration.  Booting should be pretty straight forward.  Crampons might be nice if you're heading up early.

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july-5-2008-adams-south-side
Charlie Hagedorn
2008-07-06 07:55:26