June 2-4, 2004, Mt Adams south side
6/2/04
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2841
1
Drove up on evening of June 2. Rather easily got to within 1.7 miles of the Cold Springs trailhead (only got stuck once). Slept at the car and started walking the next morning. The next mile or so of the road consisted of alternating long stretches of snow (some still over 3 feet deep) and bare gravel. Skinning becomes possible about a quarter mile from the trailhead (with just a couple of short carries).
As many folks appear to be watching here for road reports, let me summarize. I expect it will be at least a couple of weeks before one can drive all the way to Cold Springs. Much of the road within a quarter mile of CS is still covered by 2-4 feet of snow. When we returned to the car after two hot, sunny, low-humidity days the road was still only driveable to the point at which we had stopped, though the drifts further down, including one we got stuck in at Morrison Creek on the way in, were almost gone (it helps that 20 vehicles had driven through in the interim). With good weather, the road will open up perhaps another mile in the next week or two.
The skiing was utterly fantastic. The solid snowice that folks experienced last weekend turned to perfect corn over the last few days of sunshine. June 3 we skinned up to South Butte and set camp. Then with light packs we skinned up and skied from the Lunch Counter back to South Butte. Even at 3 pm on a sunny, hot day there was a few inches of corn on a firm base. Perfect!
Facing another hot sunny day, on June 4 we started before dawn. The surface was frozen solid all the way up (edit: skinned up to 10200, then crampons for the remainder). Much of the area from the Pikers Peak to the true summit had large, wind blown, blobs of solid water ice. We arrived on top at 9 am and waited (slept a bit) until noon while the snow softened in the sun. There was a narrow ribbon of decent skiable snow on skier's left-center, but most of the first pitch was icey (blobs of water ice). The slope from Pikers Peak back to the Lunch Counter was perfect - a few inches of mostly untracked corn on a firm base. Below the Lunch Counter things started to get a bit sticky (noticably softer than 2.5 hours later on the previous day). Skied all the way back to Cold Springs for a total of just over 6400 vertical. Still great coverage all the way to the treeline. A few small patches of dirt are starting to appear below treeline, but easy to ski around or step through.
As many folks appear to be watching here for road reports, let me summarize. I expect it will be at least a couple of weeks before one can drive all the way to Cold Springs. Much of the road within a quarter mile of CS is still covered by 2-4 feet of snow. When we returned to the car after two hot, sunny, low-humidity days the road was still only driveable to the point at which we had stopped, though the drifts further down, including one we got stuck in at Morrison Creek on the way in, were almost gone (it helps that 20 vehicles had driven through in the interim). With good weather, the road will open up perhaps another mile in the next week or two.
The skiing was utterly fantastic. The solid snowice that folks experienced last weekend turned to perfect corn over the last few days of sunshine. June 3 we skinned up to South Butte and set camp. Then with light packs we skinned up and skied from the Lunch Counter back to South Butte. Even at 3 pm on a sunny, hot day there was a few inches of corn on a firm base. Perfect!
Facing another hot sunny day, on June 4 we started before dawn. The surface was frozen solid all the way up (edit: skinned up to 10200, then crampons for the remainder). Much of the area from the Pikers Peak to the true summit had large, wind blown, blobs of solid water ice. We arrived on top at 9 am and waited (slept a bit) until noon while the snow softened in the sun. There was a narrow ribbon of decent skiable snow on skier's left-center, but most of the first pitch was icey (blobs of water ice). The slope from Pikers Peak back to the Lunch Counter was perfect - a few inches of mostly untracked corn on a firm base. Below the Lunch Counter things started to get a bit sticky (noticably softer than 2.5 hours later on the previous day). Skied all the way back to Cold Springs for a total of just over 6400 vertical. Still great coverage all the way to the treeline. A few small patches of dirt are starting to appear below treeline, but easy to ski around or step through.
Very nice report on access and snow conditions. Thanks.
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