jjl Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 Planning a climb of the north ridge of Mt. Adams this coming weekend... I hear it's not the most enjoyable later in the season - lots of volcanic scree & such. But we're going none-the-less for a variety of reasons. Just wondering if anyone had any opinions on the route, esp later in the season. -JJL Quote
cracked Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 It's volcanic scree and such even when everything else has snow on it. It's enjoyable going up; I've never descended it. Quote
ashw_justin Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 Take lightweight crampons for the final 1000 feet. Don't take your nice climbing boots because this climb will chew the sh@t out of 'em. Hiking boots are fine. Quote
Pandora Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 My dad and I climbed the North Ridge in a day last weekend. The fresh snow up high made for super nice going, though I'm sure it's melted off by now. We wore tennis shoes the entire way (didn't bring crampons) without a problem. However, another team that climbed the route was too sketched to descend it so they headed down the South Side and hitched back to their car. We had lots of fun though! Quote
kali Posted August 16, 2004 Posted August 16, 2004 I climbed the north ridge yesterday and conditions were great. The loose volcanic rock can get slippery but there is a fairly good worn climbers path the entire way. Snow and ice on final mile to the summit is not steep and although I brought crampons I didn't need them. There were 3 parties yesterday heading up and all of us got off route trying to get around the first large buttress below 9000' (unfortunately I don't remember the exact elevation). We all tried to wrap around the rock on the east side and should have stayed west of the spine. You'll see a big white-ish colored "wand" that's actually a piece of wood sticking up above on the west side so head for that. Wands and rock cairns are interspersed on the route and although inconsistent come in handy. Coming down the route was easier to find and no sketchier than going up. Great views into the Adams Glacier and of the lava flows from the Lava Glacier side. Quote
jjl Posted August 18, 2004 Author Posted August 18, 2004 Thanks for the timely inputs... Sounds like more fun than I'd thought! Now I just have to decide which of my footwear to wear... Maybe my mostly-beatup older hiking boots... Â -Jonathan Quote
jjl Posted August 23, 2004 Author Posted August 23, 2004 Well, the trip was excellent. Due to the weather forecast, we did it as a day-trip - 12hrs round trip. The summit got socked-in just a short while after we'd left, and it was lightly raining by the time we got back to the trailhead. Kali, I saw the white piece of wood you mentioned & went that way (at 9,200ft), though it was almost by accident. I was following a goat, trying to get a good photo, and that's where the goat went. I then noticed the wands, etc, and thanked the goat. We saw only one other group of 3 people on the route. Anyway, the full story & photos are on my site at: http://www.phlumf.com/other/photos/adams/adams.htm -Jonathan (aka jjl) Quote
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