Emilio_Ungerfeld Posted August 9, 2004 Posted August 9, 2004 A friend and I are thinking in going to Mt Adams in early November. Probably doing the South Spur. Has anyone been there around that time of the year. What's the avalanche risk in the South face? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks, Emilio Ungerfeld Quote
AlpineK Posted August 9, 2004 Posted August 9, 2004 You're going to have to work extra hard to find avys on the south spur in September. Quote
Ducknut Posted August 9, 2004 Posted August 9, 2004 If you can tell me how much snow we'll have in November I'll tell you the likelihood of avy conditions on the south spur. But unless we have a huge dump, you'll have a higher likelihood of a slide in Byrd Stadium. Go Terps Quote
Alex Posted August 9, 2004 Posted August 9, 2004 November. Your success will be completely weather dependent. If you get good weather for more than a day or two, chances are the steep slope before the summit plateau will be stable enough to climb. If you get bad weather, you won't be able to see farther than 10 feet. Quote
pete_a Posted August 9, 2004 Posted August 9, 2004 You may want to check with the Forest Service about the time of year in the past that they've gated the road up to Cold Springs...its likely locked up before the first snow of the year at treeline elevation, so you could be looking at anywhere from a few miles to a lot of miles of road hiking that time of year just to get to the trailhead. FYI, November is generally one of the wetter months in the NW...there could be days on end of stormy, snowy weather that time of year. (mmm freshies) The NW early season snowpack can occationally develop depth hoar and thin, weak windslabs, but really there is absolutely no way to predict what you'll find up there in early winter. That being said, I've never been up Adams that time of year, but when I've been up Hood and Baker in Nov. and Dec. the upper mountain has been wind scoured clean of anything resembling soft snow. Quote
ashw_justin Posted August 10, 2004 Posted August 10, 2004 Huh? The first time I went up the South Spur was November 2, 2002. It was perfect weather, NO (that's right ZERO) snow. Just tons of bare rock and a couple of water-ice patches to cross. I took aluminum crampons, which I used for about 30 minutes in total. So one bigass hike squeezed into a short autumn day. Go during good weather, maybe call the rangers and ask if there has been any snow. You'll be able to see on the drive up what the snow coverage (if any) is like. Quote
Emilio_Ungerfeld Posted August 10, 2004 Author Posted August 10, 2004 Thanks everyone for the comments/input...and for supporting the Terps! Emilio Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.