North Ridge Players

[Vancleave]

I've been checking the southern Cascades board for weeks now, looking for any beta on players climbing Mt Adams. I guess they must all be south siders. Well, we went looking for a true wilderness experience and found it. This is my first year of mountain climbing and I am proud to say that the North Ridge of Adams is my third summit in 2001. The others were south side of Hood (on second try. First attempt was a whiteout), and Kautz Glacier on Rainier. Both my partner and I felt that of the three, that the Adams North Ridge was the best this year. Now, don't be fooled by that statement. This route is a rubble strewn mess. This time of year there is no snow or ice until you reach the summit ice cap and then it's a nice stroll across to the summit with no signifigant crevasses. Be advised though that quite frequently it is two steps up and one step back on the ridge. There is tremendous exposure on either side of the ridge and mistakes are not an option. We left from the incredibly beautiful alpine meadows at 7000' at 2:00 am Sunday and summitted at almost 9am. This route doesn't require an early start, as evidenced by the only other group to make the attempt on the ridge. We met them for the second time that weekend on our way down. Our first meeting was at the Killen Creek trailhead where they were making breakfast and one of the ladies offered us some pastries that really hit the spot. Thank you. One of the reasons why this is such an enjoyable route is the approach. The hike into the alpine meadows is spectacular and would be recommended just as a nice back country trip or day hike. There are several nice campsites in the meadows. I believe the one we had is the best in the area. Also, there are several decent bivy sites along the ridge if you want to lessen the distance to the summit. This is a very unstable ridge though and an earthquake or tremor could easily shake this flank loose into a lahar. We could not have gotten better weather on this trip, we had visuals all the way down to Mt Bachelor and beyond to the south and Mt Baker to the north. The only disappointment was we didn't get to see any mountain goats. One curiosity. What was the guy who built the lookout tower thinking? That thing probably still has ice in it from the first year it was built. Mt Adams has always had a magnetic pull on me and finally it got me. My next trip will be a south side ski trip. Anybody got suggestions on best time of year to shred? All in all a great experience.

[climbing4fun2000]

Vancleave,

Is any gear required for this climb, i.e. crampons, rope, pro.? I'm looking at doing it in the next week or two. Thanks for any info.

[tedserres]

C4F,

Inspite of the trashing the Mt Adams North Ridge has taken on this board for being 'miserable, despicable, in-obvious route-finding', I did it in July, up and down. When I went it was all rock except for the summit snow cap. You shouldn't need any rope/pro. Crampons would only be needed (doubful) on the summit cap, but the slope is very mild. We did not put on crampons. Reflecting back, I feel the board was right. The next time I'm on it will only be as a descent for another route.

However as you can see Vancleav enjoyed it a lot, so this is only one person's opinion.

We did see a herd of goat's a couple of times and exerienced great views of the Adams glacier and Lava Headwall.

Good luck!

-Ted

[EddieE]

I did the North Ridge a few years ago and had a great time. We did it earlier in the season and didn't need to put our crampons once and didn't bring a rope. We got lucky and found that there was ice keeping the scree frozen together, so it was like walking up a bumpy sidewalk.

[mattp]

The Northwest Ridge and Lava Cleaver are also good rubble climbs, though both involve several hundred feet of steep snow which may be icy at around the 10,000' level.

For a ski descent, the south side is good as soon as the road opens (usually June) and both the S. Ridge and the SW Chutes can be skied in August, though the sun cups on the S. Ridge are usually HUGE by then. The SW Chutes is one of my favorite ski runs in Washington. However, it is steep and long - do not try to ski or ride it when the sun is not shining, because a fall on an icy surface would be very hard to arrest and you might go for a 3,800 foot shred.

[Vancleave]

C4F,

I hope you post your climb once it's done. I think sometimes we need to keep these things in perspective. That North Ridge is a bloody mess but, as i said before, it offers a true wilderness experience and the early AM views of Rainier and the Goat Rocks are spectacular. To me, Adams has always had a magnetic pull on me, but I wasn't about to do it from the southside. Too many people. My next trip though will be a Southside ski trip. Keep an eye on the Northwest ridge that rolls a seven. Reply if you figure it out. Good luck. P.S. We did use crampons and I would bring them in case the minor crevasses on the summit have widened, but I highly doubt you will need any rope or pro.

[Pencil_Pusher]

The North ridge could be fun, I guess. I shouldn't say the glass is half empty, I know, I know. But that descent sucked!! Aye carumba, I fell twice on that crap and banged myself up more there than Mr Givler's treat!

Okay, enough with the negative vibes.

[climbing4fun2000]

Well, it looks like we have it penciled for the 22nd and 23rd. I'll post my opinion.

Looking forward to it.