June 15, 2011, Mt. Adams South Side

After skiing the Wy'east Face on the 14th we headed into Hood River for lunch and then up to Trout Lake to grab permits and repack for a night at Cold Springs.  The ranger told us the road was impassable four miles from Cold Springs with consistent snow three miles from the trailhead.  This was true with a couple of additional spots where we took off skis.  It was rather tough to put ski boots back on and work our way up the road after a great day on Wy'east but we covered the four miles and set up camp for a short night without too much trouble.  It was fairly hard to navigate the trail in the dark of the morning but we made quick time.  Unfortunately we watched the weather rolling in and out below us in the valley while the wind was hammering us.  After many stops to reassess the situation it was abundantly clear we needed to turn around when we hit timberline and were nearly blown over.  After stripping skins, finding our camp and repacking, then heading back out the road we were at the car at 8am and enjoying breakfast in Hood River at Bette's Place by 9:30.  Adams remains elusive for me, but I wanted to report on road conditions for everybody.  The mountain looks awesome with all of the snow we have so hopefully plenty of people take advantage.