July 7, 2012, Mt. Adams, White Salmon Glacier
7/7/12
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3378
3
After an early start from the Cold Springs Campground; Ron, Jason and myself finally reach the summit at round noon. At the summit we ran into Amar, Pete, and Becky. Our original plan was to ski the SW Chutes, but after chatting up with Amar on what the conditions might be like on the White Salmon/Avalanche Glaciers we changed our plans on skiing the SW Chutes and opted to ski the much less traveled White Salmon Glacier. It is a decision we were all happy with at the end of the day. After reading several of his trip reports over the years, I figure we couldn't ask for a better guide than Amar to follow down this glacier.
Conditions down the White Salmon were the smoothest corn snow I've ever skied. There were a couple crevasses that were beginning to open up on the main glacier and further down below as we traversed into the Avalanche Glacier. Conditions were fast and smooth for the first couple thousand feet eventually getting sticky and mushy towards the bottom as we exited out from the Avalanche Glacier. I can imagine good with good timing, this would be a 4,000 vertical foot hero corn snow fest!
I do not have any good pictures of the route, but hopefully the video will give some idea of what the conditions were like. This is definitely a great alternative to the sometimes overcrowded SW Chutes or South Side routes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HbxHuqyPy8
Conditions down the White Salmon were the smoothest corn snow I've ever skied. There were a couple crevasses that were beginning to open up on the main glacier and further down below as we traversed into the Avalanche Glacier. Conditions were fast and smooth for the first couple thousand feet eventually getting sticky and mushy towards the bottom as we exited out from the Avalanche Glacier. I can imagine good with good timing, this would be a 4,000 vertical foot hero corn snow fest!
I do not have any good pictures of the route, but hopefully the video will give some idea of what the conditions were like. This is definitely a great alternative to the sometimes overcrowded SW Chutes or South Side routes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HbxHuqyPy8
Nice! It was so great to meet and ski with you guys! Oh and Jim = Pete, just fyi. :)
That was a terrific day on the mountain. It was a pleasure to meet and ski with a new big happy lot of folks on a new (for me) route. That was the first time I had been on Adams in such warm conditions, even the summit was easy to skin up.
Thanks Becky and Pete for carrying a rope.
A couple of things to add to the myth of Amar - he left hours after us and still caught us on pikers peak, expertly showed us the entrance and hazards on the White Salmon, and then guided us literally back to the bumper of my car while minimizing the amount of portages, although sane people may have taken their skis off for a couple of the dry patches that we tried to ski.
Thanks Becky and Pete for carrying a rope.
A couple of things to add to the myth of Amar - he left hours after us and still caught us on pikers peak, expertly showed us the entrance and hazards on the White Salmon, and then guided us literally back to the bumper of my car while minimizing the amount of portages, although sane people may have taken their skis off for a couple of the dry patches that we tried to ski.
For sure, fun trip and nice to meet everyone. I'll save this spot for pics.--Jason
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