June 29-30, 2013, Mt. Adams NFNWR
6/29/13
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3402
4
Fine skiing on the North Side of Adams last weekend, with the weather and snow conditions finally lining up to do some objective skiing.
Approach notes: best gravel road I've seen in Washington out of Packwood, horrible mosquitoes at the trailhead dictated a quick departure and the Killen Creek trail is in great shape with snowline reached in ~ 2 miles.
We may have started skinning slightly too early :) :
But soon enough we were on (dirty) snow:
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First view of the line:
We camped around 8,000' on the lower Adams Glacier and enjoyed a very pleasant evening:
A decent overnight freeze allowed us to sleep in, and we departed camp a little after 7 AM. We choose to climb the NW Ridge which ended up being both really enjoyable (lots of neve cramponing) and efficient.
We hit the North Summit before 11 AM, so we killed time and went to the true summit, then napped out on the North Summit until around 1 PM when we decided corn thirty had arrived. Our guess ended up being pretty spot on, with great corn on the upper face, and only some slightly punchy snow mid-line to keep you on your toes over the exposure.
Sweet corn on the upper face:
Heading for the rollover:
Turns on the lower face:
Home free!:
Looking back one final time:
Enjoying some of the final turns of the trip:
The North side of Adams is definitely an underrated gem, especially this late in the season given the combination of great skiing, scenery and solitude.
Approach notes: best gravel road I've seen in Washington out of Packwood, horrible mosquitoes at the trailhead dictated a quick departure and the Killen Creek trail is in great shape with snowline reached in ~ 2 miles.
We may have started skinning slightly too early :) :
But soon enough we were on (dirty) snow:
First view of the line:
We camped around 8,000' on the lower Adams Glacier and enjoyed a very pleasant evening:
A decent overnight freeze allowed us to sleep in, and we departed camp a little after 7 AM. We choose to climb the NW Ridge which ended up being both really enjoyable (lots of neve cramponing) and efficient.
We hit the North Summit before 11 AM, so we killed time and went to the true summit, then napped out on the North Summit until around 1 PM when we decided corn thirty had arrived. Our guess ended up being pretty spot on, with great corn on the upper face, and only some slightly punchy snow mid-line to keep you on your toes over the exposure.
Sweet corn on the upper face:
Heading for the rollover:
Turns on the lower face:
Home free!:
Looking back one final time:
Enjoying some of the final turns of the trip:
The North side of Adams is definitely an underrated gem, especially this late in the season given the combination of great skiing, scenery and solitude.
Very nice! Looks like like a real gem for sure...however, were you able to be with out 'skitters once at camp?
If one were to be driving from Bend, Oregon, got any ideas as to the best way to drive there?
If one were to be driving from Bend, Oregon, got any ideas as to the best way to drive there?
Wonderful TR and photos. ;)
author=rlsg link=topic=28943.msg121773#msg121773 date=1372864093]
Very nice! Looks like like a real gem for sure...however, were you able to be with out 'skitters once at camp?
If one were to be driving from Bend, Oregon, got any ideas as to the best way to drive there?
We camped at around 8,000' on the lower Adams Glacier, no skeeters there.
As far as access, I'm pretty sure you can continue from Trout Lake around to the Killen Creek trailhead.
Great photos!
Did you ski the north face of the NW ridge? Is that the smooth face between the Adams Glacier and the NW Ridge?
Did you ski the north face of the NW ridge? Is that the smooth face between the Adams Glacier and the NW Ridge?
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