Home > Trip Reports > July4 Mt Adams SW Chutes

July4 Mt Adams SW Chutes

7/15/07
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
6234
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Posted by Scotsman on 7/4/07 2:34pm
Just got back from my annual pilgrimage to the SW chutes.
Sid and I left the Cold Springs trailhead at 6.30 am and reached the south summit at noon. Hiking  until about 1000 ft below the lunch counter and then partly skinned and booted the south face. Not too many people up there, mostly climbers but a few skiers and a lot of dogs. :D

We rested on Piker's peak for about 30 mins for the legs to gain some strength back and where then joined by a couple of telemarkers. Lucy and her husband Mark from Berkely, who had just skied from the real summit and where also going to ski the chutes. We decided to join forces so all four of us headed over to the chutes and dropped in at approx 12.40 . The top steep rollover at the entry was a little icy and you had to concentrate but once into the main chute it was sublime corn the whole way.  ;D ;DLast year when I skied it I thought I had conditions that couldn't be surpassed but frankly it was more consistent this year for nearly the entire  chute. The chute we where in narrows to a steep suncupped section of about 200 ft that is pretty steep and nasty and I set of a slough that took Sid off her feet and sent her on a ride for about 20 ft .  :(
When you get to the very bottom you can see that if we had headed further skiers right at the start we would have been in  a wider chute that avoided the gnarly bit at the bottom.

The four of us where now faced with the standard chute dilemma, how to get out.  ;)The year before Joedabaker had led us on a rising traverse from the 7400ft level which was mostly on snow. This year no snow, so we decided to drop down to the RTM ( round the mountain) trail of which we had heard some horror stories. The trick, we learnt , by luck not judgement, is to follow a bearing of 180(S) or basically keep lined up on Mt. hood from about the 7600 ft contour which takes you on a descending line bearing skiers left. The terrain is very easy with no cliff bands or scree and there is a faint path that others have followed. You drop down about 1400 ft and intersect the RTM trial at approx 6200 ft. The downclimb is really easy and very pretty and all four of us actually enjoyed it. From there it is about a 2 mile hike along a fairly level trail back to where it intersects the South climb trail and then about a mile back to camp.

We celebrated with slices of melon back at the car and then headed home.
We, as usual had no camera but Mark and Lucy did and hopefully they will post some pics as I know they are TAY lurkers and will see this report. ;D

Scottie, I clicked on this about 2 minutes after you posted- :)---good send.  I'm going to Leavenworth for Thu-Sat. but will be back for a wedding.  I'll call you about sliding down something Sunday.  cheers

Nice work. Glad to hear the Californian Mark and Lucy got in good shape. We skied it on the 1st and also had a great time.

Thanks Jeff,
                  What way did you guys hike out when you did it on the 1st?

Nice to run into you on the route and thanks for the help with Norma's bindings. We were the two with the two chocolate labs.

We did make it to Piker's Peak at about 14:30.  When I looked over the edge down the SW chutes, I didn't like the looks of the traverse back to the our camp at 7100 ft. Not enough snow. Much less than my trip last year in late July. Too many rocky ridges to cross.  (This year we didn't get into continuous snow on the way up until 7800 ft. or so. Made me wonder why I didn't bring approach shoes.) I'd never done the route before either so we elected to go back down the S. ridge.  All those parties of kids that had passed us on the way up, we flashed by on the way down. So age and experience can beat youthful exuberance.  The snow on the first 3000 ft. was intoxicating. For a ways, I tried to do as many turns as possible. When I passed on of the parties of kids, I tried to show off by pulling up into a bump into a 180 to fakey, but the effect was lost because I didn't land it well. Fell, actually.  Then it was into the suncups, but they were soft suncups and a lot like bump skiing.  The last 800 ft. was a tough steep traverse to the right where I fell heelside backwards into a shrund.  I saw it coming a little late, thought I could jump it, but choked under pressure. I didn't bottom out though. 

Norma liked her new skis and boots. I hate walking in my snowboard boots. They crush my metatarsals laterally.  This was another reason I didn't want to make the traverse back from the bottom of the chutes.

I need to pull out some maps and study some past trip reports. I like your method of starting at Cold Springs in the same morning and dropping all the way to the RTM trail.  Our camping near 7100 ft. was a screwup for doing the Chutes, although it was nice to take a shady nap there on the way down until the temperature dropped in the evening.  Above all, I want to avoid camping at the dusty, bug ridden Cold Springs Campground.

Nice to meet you Major Geek and Norma. Glad you got up and the south face looked like a good ski also. I bet the labs loved the ski down.  ;D
Glad I could help with the bindings and that Norma liked her new skis. Hope to see you around. Do you live in Hood River?

White Salmon, and Yakima.

Although I like going down with a snowboard, I sure don't like traversing, yo-yoing, walking in those boots, and extra gear to climb up. I like the idea of the new randonee gear, but I'm not sure if I can remember how to ski with my heels tied down. 

Chris,
Sorry I couldn't be there.  As it turns out, my tweaked hamstring held up for a trip up to Observation Rock.  I still doubt I would have been able to keep up with you guys.  But the wild flowers in Spray Park were beautiful and the bugs were hungry enough to keep us moving. Nice job and record time.


  I tried to get some of my Canuck buddies to join me on a trip down to the SW chutes during our long weekend...no takers. Maybe we can meet there next year, Chris.

overthills  and Telemon,  next year definitely although Blitz has been asking me to go again this weekend but I don't think I have it in me! Maybe I'll feel different by tomorrow as it will be a corn harvest up there this weekend! ;)

scotsman: Mark here at an internet cafe. Many thanks for your local's knowledge and letting us CA tele skiers join you down the SW chutes. The exit crosscountry route to the RTM trail worked out well. The cantaloupe in the parking lot was the perfect end to a great day. We got some nice pics of you and Sid in the chute, I'll upload them in a few days (need to get a cable which we left in CA). And meeting Sid and chatting on the walk out was a fine way to end our 4th of July ski.

Lucy here...we're still on the road.  Thanks for the TR!  I think it will be hard to pick just 3 photos to post...Back at the car, Mark's feet looked like they'd gone through a garlic press (didn't smell that much better either  :)) which means no more PNW skiing for us--but what an epic end to our season!  The whole day was just perfect.  Awesome meeting you two, and chatting with Sid on the trail made the hike out feel much shorter.  Hope the finger heals quickly and that the drive back to Seattle was not too onerous.

Hey Mark and Lucy,
                              Nice to hear from you. Meeting and skiing the chute with you guys was the highlight of the trip. ;D
Sorry to hear about your feet Mark and I hope they get better real soon. Lucy, I know Sid likewise enjoyed the chat on the way out.
Looking forward to seeing those pics and welcome to TAY, you are no longer lurkers. ;)
Let us know when you want to sample some more PNW skiing. There's lots of people on this site that would love to show you around. :D

chris

Hey Chris,

This sounds like a great trip.  Glad you got it in this season since you had been talking about it.

Also, thanks for the Sunrise Magnum Tour from a couple of weeks ago...super time.  By the number of recent reports coming from Dege Peak it seems like the place to be in the "slack country" right now.

I bought some skates yesterday, so the training for the Haute Route spring 2008 begins!

We got home and edited and uploaded our photos from the 4th. Here is a link to our TR on Ttips.

First a couple of Scotsman and Sid:

Chris and Sidney, aka Team Orange:




Skis on the backs, Lucy takes a last look at the line.


Thanks again Scotsman!  :)

Mark and Lucy what a terrific Trip report on Telemark Tips. You've set the benchmark very high!
Hope to ski with you again next season. Maybe Shasta? :D

Chris, Team Orange! ;D

Nice job y'all!  Looks like the Chutes are almost done.  Much less snow than this time last year.

Mark and Lucy,
Sidnie says thanks for the pictures, the good company and patching up her finger so well.  Fortunately, she heals fast and should be ready for the North Cascades this weekend.  We often get to Mammoth in the winter  and would love to meet up with you and ski a volcano with a starbucks.

Michael

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july4-mt-adams-sw-chutes
Scotsman
2007-07-04 21:34:19