Mount Adams South Climb — Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022

My blue heeler Bella and I splitboarded from Pineside Sno-Park to the summit of Mount Adams this week (Jan 12-15, 2022), which was a little less than 10K vert and 30 miles.  The road to Cold Springs was entirely covered in several feet of snow, and I don't have a snowmobile, so we parked at Pineside Sno-Park and went to and from there.      Here's some quick "trip report" observations: the avy conditions were very good up there this week; there was a *lot* more snow at lower elevation than the same time last year (in particular is was easy to go straight through the AG Aiken Lava Bed) ; the snow was very good for snowboarding/skinning between 3K and 8K feet elevation, from 11K to 8K it was rideable coming down but a bit icy, and from the summit to 11K was horrible.    In the wilderness (so above about 6K), I saw only one person the entire time off in the distance, a skier who also summited an hour before me.     

This trip was really difficult for me due to pack weight (four days of supplies for me + dog), vertical ascent, altitude over 12K, technical difficult of snowboarding down, and route finding.   Route finding on the way down Adams is no joke!  Last time I summited in 2019 I glissaded down the wrong way and it was a nightmare getting back to the tent in the dark.  This time I swore I wouldn't make the same mistake, and sure enough I started snowboarding down the totally wrong path again!  Your brain starts obsessing with finding a good line down, which pushes out the part of your brain saying "Is this the right direction".  Fortunately, out of instinct I checked the GPS on my Garmin Fenix watch when right about to go down a steep section and realized I was going the wrong way near Piker's Peak, so took my board off, walked back up 5 minutes, and went down the right way.  Navigating from Lunch Counter back to the snowmobile roads was also difficult for me, since there's numerous obstacles to avoid, and the mountain always makes you want to go the wrong direction.   

Thank you Mount Adams (Pahto / Klickitat) for letting us visit for four days.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10163484633008682&set=pcb.10163484672783682
• https://becominghumanpodcast.com/episodes/william-stein-split-boarding-with-bella-and-vert-skating