Mount Adams South Climb — Friday, Aug. 6, 2010

South Cascades > Mount Adams Area

My daughter and I have finally done it, we climbed Mt. Adams. A fairly simple climb where you do not need technical skills. Crampons and an ice axe are required. My boots have too soft sole to use rented crampons, so we had to rent plastic boots. We took those in our backpacks along as I did not feel like hiking the entire route in those stiff boots. After about a 5 hours drive we arrived at the ranger station where we got our passes and latest information. Then another 20 minutes to get to the trailhead. At 12 o'clock we were ready with stuffing everything in the backpacks and we started the approach. It was beautiful weather with virtually no clouds. The beginning of the trail was easy. Soon the vegetation became less and less. Before we passed the tree line we took a break in the last shade. Then it was just rocks and snow. Still with our regular boots without crampons. No problem, because it is not steep, and there are plenty of people who have gone before you and you just step in their footsteps. After the tree line do you begin to notice that there is less air. The sun is brighter and you're out of breath quickly. But we had enough to drink no altitude sickness symptoms. The last hour was devoted to climbing a long snow field. During the climb you can see the edge where most people set up camp. Occasionally you will also see tents along the route of people who want to camp lower. After one hour on the field going up (20 steps, rest, 20 steps, etc.), we finally arrived at our destination of the first day, the "lunch counter". This is a fairly level spot at 9000 feet where most people camp. Over the years, climbers made rock-free areas by building walls. These protect you from too much wind. We found a nice spot, and soon had the tent set up. Immediately thereafter we melted snow to replenish our water supply. Hot chocolate was then addressed. The rest of the time we spent on our mats and sleeping bags and prepare macaroni eat. Freeze-dried meals are truly a godsend. And after sunset it was time to get some sleep. I was originally planning on waking up around half past three and get an early start. But at night I looked outside and saw that there was not a cloud in the sky. So it would be a cold night. That means that the snow is hard and so we slept until 5. The sunrise was very beautiful at that altitude. There was fog at lower altitudes and you could see the shadow of the mountain in the mist. After breakfast (freeze-dried muesli, delicious), we packed everything we would need in a backpack, put on the plastic boots and walked to the snow field. Then put on the crampons started our ascent at 6. From where we camped and where the climb started, you can not see the true summit. Only the false summit some 600 feet lower. It is a huge snow field from the camp site to this false summit. Approximately 2700 feet elevation gain with a few ridges in it. In the middle of this field you have a few glissade paths and we saw a few people who had previously reached the summit sliding down. After 4 hours we finally reached the false summit. Now we could see the real goal. And that seemed still a long ways away, with a steep climb in ahead. To the west we could see Mt. St. Helens gradually becoming covered with clouds. We did not feel like sitting in the clouds, so we quickly started for the real summit. The little bit down from the false summit to the saddle felt so good. But soon we had to go up again. Although it seemed very far away was not so bad. The progress went faster than we expected. After the steep snow field we had just a little bit to go and soon we were on top. Finally we had climbed a real mountain. We could not believe that we had really done it. The view was phenomenal, despite having clouds at the lower altitudes. Neither of us suffered from altitude sickness, but we were quite short of breath. We hugged each other often because we could just not believe what we had done. Other climbers that reached the summit earlier were very excited for us. Naturally they took pictures of us on the top. With the clouds that came in quickly from the west we thought it prudent to return quickly to lower altitudes. At the top of the last steep snowfield, we took off our crampons and put on foldable mini sleds. And then a quick slide down. This was the first time we did this and it was very easy. With the ice axe as a brake, we were soon back in the saddle to the false summit. Then some more up to the false summit which felt hard to do. But then came the real descent. The beginning of the "slide" was steep and eroded so much that looked like a giant water slide. Complete with banked curves. What took about three hours to climb, we descended down in about 10 minutes. An hour after we stood at the summit we were already back at the tent. Just in time, because the clouds started to envelop Mt. Adams now. An hour later we had our water supply replenished, the tent and other things packed and we were ready for the rest of the descent. And just at that moment we were in the clouds ourselves. As a result, we lost trail two times. Fortunately, we could ask other people where we were supposed to go. On the way up I had occasionally looked back to see where we came from. Apparently I forgot to do this the last mile or so. Although we were tired and were back into full gear, we made good progress. And soon we were back out of the snow and on to the fixed path. After about two and half hours we were back at the car. Then it was back to the ranger station to sign out and on our way back home.