Summited in one day, starting from the trailhead at 4:40am. My friend's pace is slow-ish, so we reached the summit at 2pm (9hr20min up). The trail was dry at the trailhead, and then the snow was continuous after about 2 miles in. Then we used crampons the whole way up. Microspikes might have worked, but crampons were easier and safer. Most of the way up, the snow was firm and efficient to walk on. By noon it was getting a little soft/slippy on some faces and travel was less efficient. About 5% of the terrain was post-holey. But it was still probably worth the extra couple hours of sleep to start when we did... Now for the fun part. We hung out on the summit till 3pm, took off crampons, put on rain pants and our home-made ultralight "glissade diapers" (look it up, they're awesome), and rode down about 3000 feet of the mountain on our butts. The shallower inclines would have been a bit too soft for a normal glissade, but with the diapers we were able to slide with ease. The steeper parts were perfectly soft without the diapers, and we were able to blaze down them safely using only our feet and mittened hands for speed control. We had axes but they weren't necessary at this level of snow softness, and if anything they were more of a hazard.
You may be considering skiing Adams. I get it. I love skiing backcountry summits. But at this time of year, this one peak is MEANT to be ridden down on your butt, and if you build a glissade diaper and plan your snow conditions right, you'll understand why.
Gear you may be wondering about: crampons, ice axe, gaiters, mountaineering boots, waterproof pants, glissade diaper. Used it all. We skipped helmets but I'm not saying you should. My friend liked having a pole.
Anyway, enjoy!
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