July 26, 2013, Mt Adams, South Route

Made the long drive south from Vancouver, BC last week to meet up with two friends from the east side for a climb of Mt. Adams. I was the only one silly enough, determined enough, to bring skis. As was reported from Mt. Hood last weekend, I encountered major bumps, created by Mother Nature. Up high the sun cups are evolving into penitentes, which I believe is Spanish for bad skiing. But hey, it was about 5,000 vertical feet of "skiing" in late July and it was a stellar day to be high in the mountains. We even stayed ahead of the dry cold front that kicked up the winds Friday night. Will try again in May when the vertical is more like 7,000 and the snow is smooth. Probably the regulars here on TAY know to stay away from these south-facing routes late in the season, but I had to go see for myself.