Mt. Adams - South Spur Route

[rstreicher]

First off: if you hadn't been informed yet, the road to Coldwater Springs Campground has been re-opened, now that the fire of the same name was extinguished, and climbers are able to have their way with the mountain again along Trail 183.

 

On Wednesday evening (8/13) I drove up there after work and after registering at the forest service ranger station in Trout Lake, traveled the remaining 15 miles or so to the campground. One thing I noticed about the forest service road leading up to the campground is that it's in way better condition now than when I climbed Adams in 2002. Back then only a 4 wheeler with high ground clearance could have made it up; now I think just about anything with at least 6 inches of ground clearance could get there.

 

Once there I got everything ready for the climb, spread out my sleeping bag in the back of my pickup, and planned to sleep until 3:00 am and start up the dusty trail. The night was warm and beautiful with a gibbous moon. Even though I was comfortable and tired from a long day at work, I guess I was too excited about doing the climb to fall asleep. So at 2:00 am I decided to give up trying and I grabbed my pack and poles and headed out.

 

About the same time that I started out, another couple - Mark and Lauren - also embarked on their trip up. They were a little ahead of me at first, and we played leapfrog throughout the day up to the top - sometimes travelling as a threesome (especially when we needed three headlamps and 6 eyes to figure out where in the darkness the next piling marker was). Mark & Lauren, if you're reading this, it was nice to meet you and I wish you well in the Hood-to-Coast next weekend.

 

Now, about that darkness. That was one of the coolest (almost surreal) experiences I've ever had. First off, even though it was early-early morning, the temperature was warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirt (at least up to around the 8,000 foot level). The moon was just starting to set, and as it got closer to the horizon it became more and more orange. The night sky was filled with stars, and I saw several shooting stars, too. Being able to see the mountain in the light of the moon with the stars as a backdrop was for me the best part of the journey.

 

Once I got to lunch counter, which is a vast plateau at around 9,100 feet, I removed a handful of items from my pack to lighten the load for the next part of the climb. It was around 9:00 am by this point (I know, what a slow-poke). For those of you who've climbed this route before, you know what lies ahead: several hours of some of the hardest work your body's ever known. One long continuous slope that rises about 2,000 vertical feet in a mix of snow, loose rock, and diminishing oxygen. And that's just to get to Piker's Peak (aka, False Summit). It's a grind and ya gotta want it bad! Once on top of Piker's Peak, there's a flat expanse with one of the most spectacular views around. There's of course the awesome views of Mt. Hood (a view which is available throughout the day) and St. Helens (which is viewable periodically along the route). What is most cool though are the glaciers that cover the flat area, the cornices that are visible on the east side of the mountain, and of course the top of the mountain which you can finally view. For me, this was the payoff for all the hard work getting up the slope to Piker's Peak - and the most unique and picturesque part of the whole mountain.

 

The next little task was to walk up the dry slope about 1,000 vertical feet (guessing here) to the top of the mountain. I make it sound easy, but at that elevation I was finding it hard to climb up more than a handful of steps before needing to stop and catch my breath. The top offers the reward of finally getting to see Mt. Rainier directly to the north, as well as a good view of the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area to the northeast. After taking several pictures and spending about half an hour up there, I started heading down. After 12 hours of nothing but going up, what a treat it was to go down for a change! And being able to glissade was not only fun, I'm certain in terms of efficiency it saved me at least an hour compared to walking down.

 

After locating my stashed goods, with the help of my trusty Garmin GPS, I ventured down the rest of the way back to the campground. All told it was a great day and I got to meet several people along the way.

 

One thing of note - all along the way up from lunch counter, there were a continuous flow of thousands and thousand of butterflies making their way from east to west. I'm not sure what species they were or what they were doing so high up, but it was an amazing sight and a real treat.

 

Lessons learned:

 

- make yourself drink water regularly, even if you don't think it's necessary. I thought I was drinking enough, but by the time I got back I had a killer sore throat and could hardly swallow. I'm fairly certain it was due to being a bit dehydrated.

 

- take water-resistant pants if you plan on glissading. I brought a ground pad to slide on, which didn't work very well, causing the snow to pile up on top of the pad. By the time I was done sliding down, my cotton shorts were soaked from the melted snow. Good thing it was warm.

 

- take crampons. I didn't take them and even though the snow was soft enough that it wasn't absolutely required for safety reasons, I had to proceed more cautiously (and slowly) to make sure I had good footing with each step. Crampons would have helped me ascend faster.

 

- take bottled oxygen (just kidding)

 

Here's the link to the pictures I took that day: Mt. Adams Climb Pix 2008

 

Thanks for reading. Happy trails!

[pc313]

IN 2004 PIKERS PEAK WAS STILL COVERD IN SNOW IN AUG. AND THE

BUTTERFLIES WERE THICK,I'VE GOT VIDEO OF IT,IT WAS LIKE SNOWING

BUTTERFLIES,GOING UP IN THE MORNING FOR 3 OR 4 FOR DAY'S .

AIR WHO NEEDS AIR!!!