July 11, 2009, Mt. Adams, SW Chute

I went up Friday evening and found a spot in the crowded parking area at dark. It was a beautiful evening with the stars out and no bugs.

Left the lot around 6:30 and made it to the Lunch Counter in running shoes. Switched over to boots for the stairway to heaven leading to Pikers Peak. The South side looked terrible for skiing with the sun cups. I saw a guy skiing down and he wasn't having any fun. Near the top of the ridge I saw a gal with her skis on her back walking down. She didn't look happy.

Most everyone else was descending via the glissage gullies. No other skiers were around despite the fact that there were masses of people on the South Side. I looked at the summit from Piker's Peak and it didn't look appealing for skiing.



After a bit of lunch and a rest, I dropped into the chutes around 11:30. The snow was better than the South side due to the skier traffic (not as bad sun cups), but it was still not the fun cruise that I've enjoyed in previous trips. The snow had softened sufficiently and it looked like I was the first person in the chutes on that day.

I was wary of the rock fall near the bottom, but the sun cups down there made the going slower than I wanted in the bowling alley.




I wasn't able to find continuous snow so had to hike further than I expected. Made it to the RTM and switched to running shoes for the hike out. It was a beautiful afternoon hike with the wildflowers in abundance; the breeze kept the temperature pleasant.  Despite the crowds on the way up, I saw no one else from the time I left Pikers Peak to the time that I returned to the South Climb trail from the RTM.

On the drive home, I found a nice swimming hole to cool off and rinse the dust off. I also made a brief stop in Husum to watch the rafters going over the Husum Falls on the White Salmon. This crew had quite an experience...