CraigA Posted June 23, 2002 Posted June 23, 2002 My plan was to leave Vancouver (WA) about 7-8am this would put me at Killen Creek by 9-10am; strike one...overslept and didn't leave until 11:00am. I found out before I left that I had to go to Randle because the roads from Trout Lake were not open to Killen Creek. No problem. Except I forgot my map that shows the roads north of Killen Creek and had to stop and ask the rangers.....BIG MISTAKE!!! They give me directions (oh, did I say there was road construction between I-5 and Randle, sat at a complete stop for 20 min. on two occasions) which turned out bogus, so I spent an extra hour driving around the back roads before I finally found it. The road was clear all the way to Killen Creek but blocked about 1/3 mile from trailhead. So, there I was gearing up and leaving the truck, not 10am as planned but 4:00pm strike two. I tried to hold a good pace and managed to get to camp site at 7100ft in 3 hours; not too bad but I was shooting for camping at 8500ft. So I crashed out at 9:30pm and was "lullabied" to sleep by the Adams Glacier breaking and crashing, I got up at 3:30. As I got closer and closer to the ridge I kept thinking how the #$@% do you climb that SOB! It looks far worse than it is when you actually get on it. I took a break just before the first gendarme and a mountain goat walks up to about 20ft....WAY COOL! I continue up and the one time I got into the snow it was very soft, sunk up to my thigh twice. By the time I reached 9800ft I was 3 hours into the route (not bad, a little over half the route down) but, I was now facing an approximate 100 yard snow run up a 45* shoot and the snow was even softer. This shoot was across a gully that ended in a cliff. After one butt-puckering slip I ruled this over my self-imposed limit of risk. I went back to the rocks, looked it over and couldn't come up with a way around it. I have promised both my wife and myself that if I do not feel comfortable with something I'll back off it...so I did. I believe if you go into it with doubt or fear, then there is a higher chance of making a mistake. Strike three The route was probably ok, and a better climber might have breezed right up that gully, but hey, the route isn't going anywhere and I will be back. All in all, I had fun. This was my biggest undertaking solo (I know, the North Ridge of Adams is not a big undertaking. But, compared to the South Side of Hood, I'd say it is) and I enjoyed every minute of it. I had the entire side of the mountain to myself...not one other person. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and watched the moonset as I ate breadfast. Sorry I got so long winded, Craig [ 06-22-2002, 08:35 PM: Message edited by: CraigA ] Quote
rperitore Posted June 26, 2002 Posted June 26, 2002 Hey how did the Lava Glacier Headwall look while you were up there? (If you could see it from where you were on the N. Ridge) I'm planning on heading down there this weekend and climbing the headwall so any pertinent info would be appreciated. Thanks Quote
vegetablebelay Posted June 26, 2002 Posted June 26, 2002 quote: Originally posted by rperitore: Hey how did the Lava Glacier Headwall look while you were up there? (If you could see it from where you were on the N. Ridge) I'm planning on heading down there this weekend and climbing the headwall so any pertinent info would be appreciated. Thanks Rperitore! He's alive! http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=000225 [ 06-26-2002, 07:15 AM: Message edited by: vegetablebelay ] Quote
AllYouCanEat Posted June 26, 2002 Posted June 26, 2002 I was up there about three weeks ago. The lava headwall didn't look as well as it has in past years. The NFNWR looked awesome...sorry, not much, so take it for what it is worth...jason hummel... Quote
CraigA Posted June 27, 2002 Author Posted June 27, 2002 rperitore, I think the headwall looked pretty shitty. There was a constant rain of rock coming down it, and I mean constant! Not just the little stuff either. I saw one slide that must have been about 150 feet wide come sweeping down; almost all rock! Good luck, Craig Quote
rperitore Posted June 27, 2002 Posted June 27, 2002 yeah vegetable, I've stayed away from this site for a while, too much of a negative spray fest going on for me. [ 06-26-2002, 12:47 PM: Message edited by: rperitore ] Quote
Dru Posted June 27, 2002 Posted June 27, 2002 quote: Originally posted by rperitore: yeah vegetable, I've stayed away from this site for a while, too much of a negative spray fest going on for me. Spray is positive..flame is negative....SPWAY ON!!! Quote
rperitore Posted June 30, 2002 Posted June 30, 2002 Yikes, that route looked super crappy this weekend. The N. Face NW Ridge looked really good, but bad weather forced a hasty retreat. I was kinda suprised how crappy most of the routes on the N-NW side looked. Probably won't bother heading bace down there till next year. Quote
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