Harm

Here is a composite picture from our high camp at around 9,350.

To address a couple of the questions... I climbed in Koflach plastic boots and would bring a pair of sandles for lounging around camp. The approach isn't that terrible (or long on the gravel) in plastic. I think you could ALMOST climb the whole thing in approach shoes if you stayed on the beaten path but you'd be subject to some good plunges if you find some soft spots in the afternoon. If you really hate hiking in plastic then bring some approach shoes and you'll probably end up wanting to put the plastic on a couple miles in or so near the Crescent glacier. As far as camping at the lunch counter, there are numerous spots snow free... too many to count. We saw people camping all the way froma bout 7,000 to about 9,600, plenty of choices and windbreaks. There seemed to be plenty good camp spots on rock(about a dozen) around the 9,300 foot level or so. As far as the winter parka's going, I personally only had a polypro long sleeve shirt, a Marmot driclime wind shirt and then a Gore-tex jacket... the Gore-tex never left the pack but would have been nice if the percipitation materialized. I don't think anybody in the group really had too many layers under the jackets in the pictures.. the temperature was pretty comfortable with a polypro t-shirt and just a jacket over. Of course the warmer coat was nice for sitting on the summit for a while in the cool, albeit gentle, breeze. I wouldn't get bogged down with too many layers if you have a decent weather report in sight. Harm

Climb: Mt Adams-South Climb Date of Climb: 6/24-6/25/2005 Trip Report: For the sake of updating any curious parties on current Mt. Adams conditions, I was part of a group of 5 that took a leisurely trip up the South climb on Mt. Adams on Friday 6/24. After registering in Trout Lake, we made our way to Cold Springs for the nice hike in. The approach is snow free until roughly 6300 and then sparse mixed snow/rock until reaching the Crescent glacier. We blazed a trail straight up the headwall (if you can call it that) of the Crescent as opposed to taking the ridge route to the west. Snow on the approach to the lunch counter was fairly well consolidated in the old boot tracks while punching through was common if off the beaten track. Looked to be excellent corn skiing by late morning/early afternoon. We reached the lunch counter pretty early, set up camp and broke out the mini-bar for an afternoon of relaxation. Woke up around 4:30am on saturday to no wind, partially obscured sky. Left camp around 6:20am and headed up to south face to the summit by 9:00am after stopping a couple times to repair some REI rental boot caused blister issues for one of our group members. Excellent weather, not too cold (just below freezing) or windy, and nice day to be climbing, snow stayed fairly firm all the way to the top but not too hard, some of the group had crampons on, and some choose to go without. Ate lunch on top and started our way down around 10:30 or so... the snow off the summit was too firm for glissading but once reaching the false summit, the glissade path to the lunch counter was soft enough. Several non-stop false summit to lunch counter glissades were done by the group. Skiing conditions looked great by 11am and possible all the way to the base of the Crescent glacier. Gear Notes: crampons, ice axe for glissading control Approach Notes: Cold Springs Trailhead

My personal favorite was a blue jean and flannel shirt wearing father and son I saw on Mt Hood 2 years ago that used a bright yellow plastic braided rope (like used on small boats!?!) tied directly around their waist (i.e. sans harness). They proceeded to get themselves literally tangled in a large group from the Mazama's near the Hogsback. It was like watching the movie Deliverance Goes climbing...it was quite a sight.

Thanks Alex... looks like Success is already melting out significantly around the... ehh.. what.. 10.5-11k foot level? Right where you need to start swinging out on the face. Well.. hopefully the stars can align and I can get out there asap. Thanks.

Thanks, I PM'd Mystic and Sundry for further details. Looks like the westside road is already open to the permanent closure (per Mike G's recent post). I was always told (can't remember if it was Mike or differrent Rangers) that the best/quickest way to access Success cleaver (and most SW routes) was through the Tahoma Creek trail just beyond the permanent closure (1-2 miles?), technically closed because of flooding, but well worn, easy to find and follow and used often by the Rangers on westside scouting approaches. Anybody have thoughts that differ from that opinion? I guess I'd be curious to where people ditch their bikes at if biking in... i.e. what trailhead access point?

Anybody have any beta on the west side conditions? I imagine it's like normal May/June conditions out there. Particularly interested in Success Cleaver... probably too late already considering the winter we've had... or not had. The park could probably open the westside road already if they havn't already... anybody know for sure? Thanks.

I found out a couple of years ago that there abuse of the system is quite prevalant. I think you get 5 days in any given "climbing zone" such as Muir, Shurman or Liberty Ridge. Some folks would go down to the ranger station on a tuesday to get "walk-up" and take camp spots tues, wed, thurs,fri and sat night. Then they'd drive back to seattle for the week and return for their trip on Friday morning. One such example I witnessed two summers ago was that it was a thursday night and there were supposedly near capacity numbers booked at both Shurman and Emmons Flats yet it was a ghosttown. The system is severely bent if not broken.

Dulton, I hear what you are saying Re: RMI crowds on DC. I had a "wonderful" encouter with some of their groups about two years ago (I think) when the Emmons route traversed far far left somewhere near 13,000 or so to join the DC route to the crater rim. It was a mass of humanity, one particular crack that needed to be navigated around in an s-shape was quite a particular cluster. The original plan was to be camping on the summit overnight such that we could pick our descent time, i.e. time our descent such that the RMI groups were on their way up and well clear of the top of the cleaver. Maybe that is wishful thinking, I have not been on DC lately to truly appreciate the crowds I guess. I had been toying with staging a car at White River as Fear suggested and that might be a way to go for route conditions, crowds and being able to claim we climbed up and over the mountain. I was toying with the idea but had failed to convince myself that I wanted to do that long walk out to White River again, I think I've burnt myself out on that trail/approach having done that route too many times in the past couple seasons. Anyway, I think we are going to put the trip off a week or so, I have not heard much good information regarding the snowpack consolidation but have heard several bad experiences. We have time to wait.. so I think we will give it a week or so and try and get up Success before it melts out and perhaps get some nice weather days to boot.

Re: Carrying over to DC. The group wanted to entertain the possibility of camping on the Summit, weather and time permitting and also truncate some time off of the descent by staging a car at Paradise. I guess we could entertain downclimbing the Kautz as well but not knowing the condition of the ramp near the ice cliff, I would be more hesitant to down climb it not having that beta from the way up. Additionally, from the few people I've talked to about Success Cleaver I've been told that down climbing it can be a little hairy with all the exposure on some of the high traverses in questionable footing. DC would probably be the best choice (save Ingraham direct which I've heard is essentially done for the season) and most straight forward for the group composition in my opinion.

I was wondering if anybody had any first.. second or thirdhand for that matter, info on the upper mountain snowpack in the last week or so. Looks like the weather forecast has some new snowfall potential this week. I was considering taking a group up Success Cleaver on the 11th and carrying over to DC and I'm starting to consider waiting for further snowpack consolidation. A couple of friends of mine were going to attempt DC after the massive memorial day snow dump and wisely turned around at Muir to have a beer in the parking lot instead due to some nasty/thick/easily triggered slabs formed on a hard ice layer in some pit tests they dug. I'd appreciate any info anybody has. Thanks.

According to http://www.nps.gov/mora/current/current.htm#roadopen The Westside tentative road opening date is 5/28/04. When this road opens, how far up the road is it open for? I recall washout issues on the road but it's been a while since I even have been paying attention to it's condition.