June 26, 2005, Mt. Adams S. Spur
6/26/05
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
3881
1
The original plan was to ski the SW Chutes, but alas patience is not my virtue and waiting for the snow to hit that perfect consisteny was not in the cards for the day.
My friend Scott and I left Cold Springs at 6:15 in the morning, both chasing down and being followed by at least 20 skiers and boarders on this day. Clouds stayed low and to the west, being sunny and calm up on the mountain.
Running shoes worked fine for the hike up to Lunch Counter where I switched to boots and decided to skin for a while. About halfway up to the false summit I chose to pack my skis more to vary my muscle use than anything else. One skier was already picking his way down, chattering through each turn on the hard snow. Not sure why he didn't wait for it to soften, but to each their own.
By 11:30 I was on the summit waiting for Scott and chillin' with a cold Pabst and munched a salami-packed bagel. I enjoyed the company of two skiers, a boarder, and a dog from the Portland area and lounged around for a bit over an hour, waiting for the snow to soften. From the summit I could see many people gathering above the entrance to the SW Chutes and began to wonder if Scott may have stopped there when I saw some start their first turns into that line. When the beers where gone and the Portland group started down I decided to take some turns and see if I might find my partner. I skied the first couple hundred feet on chattery, hard snow then saw Scott below a knoll where I stopped, packed my skis, and hiked it back to the summit. I laid down and took a short nap while Scott made his final push to the top.
By around 1:30 we began the descent. The snow had softened some, but still had a chatter and was less than completely enjoyable. At the entrance to the Chutes, we opted for the mellower angle of S. Spur partly because of less than perfect snow (yes, we were being overly picky) and because Scott wasn't too keen on the traverse we'd need to do to get back to Cold Springs.
From the false summit I went far skier's left near the seracs and crevasses of the glacier trying to find untracked, unbooted lines that were also a bit steeper. After the first few turns hugging a crevasse, the snow turned to perfect corn and the joys of a great harvest were found. For about 2500' we skied hero snow, carving high-speed, smooth turns down the buttery snow, eyes watering and smiles radiating from ear to ear. While it was a bit disappointing to miss the chutes, the skiing we found was pure fun and the rain didn't arrive until Randle on the drive home.
My friend Scott and I left Cold Springs at 6:15 in the morning, both chasing down and being followed by at least 20 skiers and boarders on this day. Clouds stayed low and to the west, being sunny and calm up on the mountain.
Running shoes worked fine for the hike up to Lunch Counter where I switched to boots and decided to skin for a while. About halfway up to the false summit I chose to pack my skis more to vary my muscle use than anything else. One skier was already picking his way down, chattering through each turn on the hard snow. Not sure why he didn't wait for it to soften, but to each their own.
By 11:30 I was on the summit waiting for Scott and chillin' with a cold Pabst and munched a salami-packed bagel. I enjoyed the company of two skiers, a boarder, and a dog from the Portland area and lounged around for a bit over an hour, waiting for the snow to soften. From the summit I could see many people gathering above the entrance to the SW Chutes and began to wonder if Scott may have stopped there when I saw some start their first turns into that line. When the beers where gone and the Portland group started down I decided to take some turns and see if I might find my partner. I skied the first couple hundred feet on chattery, hard snow then saw Scott below a knoll where I stopped, packed my skis, and hiked it back to the summit. I laid down and took a short nap while Scott made his final push to the top.
By around 1:30 we began the descent. The snow had softened some, but still had a chatter and was less than completely enjoyable. At the entrance to the Chutes, we opted for the mellower angle of S. Spur partly because of less than perfect snow (yes, we were being overly picky) and because Scott wasn't too keen on the traverse we'd need to do to get back to Cold Springs.
From the false summit I went far skier's left near the seracs and crevasses of the glacier trying to find untracked, unbooted lines that were also a bit steeper. After the first few turns hugging a crevasse, the snow turned to perfect corn and the joys of a great harvest were found. For about 2500' we skied hero snow, carving high-speed, smooth turns down the buttery snow, eyes watering and smiles radiating from ear to ear. While it was a bit disappointing to miss the chutes, the skiing we found was pure fun and the rain didn't arrive until Randle on the drive home.
Nice report, Jon.
Yeah, I've skied that line to the extreme skiers left down Suksdorf Ridge before. You're right, it usually does have some sweet, untracked corn over there if the sun is out.
Thanks for the report.
Yeah, I've skied that line to the extreme skiers left down Suksdorf Ridge before. You're right, it usually does have some sweet, untracked corn over there if the sun is out.
Thanks for the report.
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