Has anyone measured the SW Chutes of Adams?

A thread on another board has made me curious as to what the average angle of the SW Chutes really is. If you review guidebooks you end up getting 3 differenet figures:<br><br>- First from our very own Amar , "The chutes drop SW from the false summit at a 35-40 degree slope for over 4000 vertical feet." url=http://www.skimountaineer.com/CascadeSki/CascadeSki.php?name=Adams]link[/url<br><br>- Next Rainier Burdgorfer, "The longest of these gullies is 30 degrees steep, 30 feet wide in places and 3,000ft long (3,3,3)"<br><br>- And then Chris Van Tilburg in Backcountry Ski Oregon, "[a] narrow 4,000-foot gulley maintains a 35-degree slope"<br><br>Here's a photo looking down it last June:<br> <br><br>Anyone have any thoughts on these figures? I guess a fieldtrip may be in order in the next few weeks to settle this question.

I think burgdorfer just said that because he likes saying (3,3,3). I heard him say that at a talk once too. But they are steeper than 30 degrees.<br><br>The topo map is probably the best place to measure them. A quick glance shows they descend 3000ft over a horizontal distance of 4500ft, which puts them at 33.7 degrees, but spots are a little steeper. They mellow out considerably after 3000ft.<br>I don't have the actual topo map (just looking online), so those numbers are probably a little off. I think it's a little steeper than that.

SW Chutes are 34 degrees. <br><br>NFNWR is 43 degrees. <br><br>S Side is 26 degrees. <br><br>TOPO is fun.

A random sampling of measurements I made one time, from topo maps:<br><br>NFNWR: 44.5 over 1800ft<br>NFNWR: 39 over 2800ft<br>Sahale Peak, W Face: 40 over 800ft<br>Bucker N couloir, 45 over 1200ft<br>Mowich Face, Mt Rainier: 39 over 3300ft<br>Mt Fury, NE Face: 48 over 1600ft<br>North Twin Sister, N Face: 40 over 800ft<br>Cascade-Johanesburg couloir: 43.5 over 800ft<br>Cascade-Johanesburg couloir: 36 over 3200ft<br>Coleman Headwall: 44.5 over 1800ft<br>Spider Mtn N face, east side (volken): 43 over 1200ft<br>Forbidden Peak, NW Face of N Ridge: 45.5 over 700ft<br>Dragontail Peak, NE couloir: 47 over 1200ft<br><br>

The topo map slope of 34 degrees works well in this case, because the SW Chutes hold a very constant pitch, except that the map doesn't show the steepest roll at the very bottom (in the skier's left chute) which reaches closer to 40 degrees for a few hundred feet. I general, I think guidebooks should mention the maximum angle on a route, hence my "35-40 degrees" (slope angles should usually be rounded to 5 degree increments). So I would say Van Tilburg's and my numbers are consistent with each other and also correct. Burgdorfer's book is very good, but I don't understand where "30 degrees" or "30 feet wide" come from. The Chutes are closer to 300 ft wide than 30 ft, even into July in a typical snow year.<br>