July 7-8, 2008, Adams South Side
7/7/08
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3691
2
Story atop, synopsis below:
My childhood friend Bryce G. and I headed for what I hoped would be an excellent introduction to the backcountry on Adams. We leisurely hiked and skinned to just below the Lunch Counter, set up camp, and headed up for a 1200' sunset ski.
After noting that we'd burned through far more fuel than I usually do on a solo bivy, we set out at ~7:30 for the summit. We opted to ascent the upper pitch along the margin of the Klickitat and Lyman Glaciers - the view is worth the extra distance. After a short break at the summit cabin, Bryce opted to ski the roof to kick off his first summit descent in the backcountry. The softened rime skied well, for rime, and Bryce handled it nicely.
As a group, we were hesitant to ski the chutes. Any worries about the match between a backcountry novice and the steeper slope were laid to rest by the snow - ski penetration of 2", easy pole penetration to 2' through soft goo. We headed for the south side. The ski was good all the way back to camp, where we discovered that much of our cached food had been sampled by ravens. Of particular interest was the ravens' taste in Gorp; the chocolate, nuts, and fruit had been systematically removed from the granola base. The ski to the car was fun.
Synopsis: Good weather, good skiing. Snowpack's skiable to ~6200', crescent's just getting the beginnings of teeny runnels. A continuous line from the summit to the SW chutes is just _barely_ possible. S side requires a short carry over Piker's. Pole penetration to 2/3rds of a pole kept us from dropping the chutes on the late afternoon of the 8th. South side was fun. Mice nibbled a little of our food at an 8300' camp. Ravens raided our buried but melt-uncovered stash in the afternoon. Bury deep.
S side's not faring as well as last year - maybe a week or so remains until the line off Piker's is a little discontinous. SW chutes look mighty fine, as does the southern margin of the White Salmon. Views from Helens suggest that getting onto the WS from above would be tricky.
My childhood friend Bryce G. and I headed for what I hoped would be an excellent introduction to the backcountry on Adams. We leisurely hiked and skinned to just below the Lunch Counter, set up camp, and headed up for a 1200' sunset ski.
After noting that we'd burned through far more fuel than I usually do on a solo bivy, we set out at ~7:30 for the summit. We opted to ascent the upper pitch along the margin of the Klickitat and Lyman Glaciers - the view is worth the extra distance. After a short break at the summit cabin, Bryce opted to ski the roof to kick off his first summit descent in the backcountry. The softened rime skied well, for rime, and Bryce handled it nicely.
As a group, we were hesitant to ski the chutes. Any worries about the match between a backcountry novice and the steeper slope were laid to rest by the snow - ski penetration of 2", easy pole penetration to 2' through soft goo. We headed for the south side. The ski was good all the way back to camp, where we discovered that much of our cached food had been sampled by ravens. Of particular interest was the ravens' taste in Gorp; the chocolate, nuts, and fruit had been systematically removed from the granola base. The ski to the car was fun.
Synopsis: Good weather, good skiing. Snowpack's skiable to ~6200', crescent's just getting the beginnings of teeny runnels. A continuous line from the summit to the SW chutes is just _barely_ possible. S side requires a short carry over Piker's. Pole penetration to 2/3rds of a pole kept us from dropping the chutes on the late afternoon of the 8th. South side was fun. Mice nibbled a little of our food at an 8300' camp. Ravens raided our buried but melt-uncovered stash in the afternoon. Bury deep.
S side's not faring as well as last year - maybe a week or so remains until the line off Piker's is a little discontinous. SW chutes look mighty fine, as does the southern margin of the White Salmon. Views from Helens suggest that getting onto the WS from above would be tricky.
buell and I got up to the summit yesterday, after a 4 am start, in the best weather you could ask for. Snow from the summit wasn't worth riding. We had to make a short carry to get back to pikers. Stability in the sw chute was bomber, and perfect, corn. It got a little choppy just before the bottom 1/4, but you can still cut over, if you choose( i chose not). Snow just beneath the chutes was smooth as silk. .Best ride of the spring for me., then got dirty, then got sticky. Skied it out to round the mountain trail where Buell interpreted our way back through partly snow covered trail.
Three other guys dropped shortly after us. I think that was it for riders on Adams.
Three other guys dropped shortly after us. I think that was it for riders on Adams.
It was good times up there yesterday. Here is a photo from the drive out and at the top of the chutes.
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