Mt. Adams South Climb Trip Report: 6/28/2024
Mt. Adams South Climb Route: One day climb, June 28, 2024
Near perfect conditions for the annual pilgrimage up the hill! The four Lava Ladies of 2023 reunited for what we dubbed a “Girls’ Girls Day” on Mount Adams.
Here’s what went down:
Cold Springs Beta:
The road in is worse than in recent years; definitely bring a high-clearance car if possible. Even my Subaru Outback would scrape bottom if I didn’t angle my car rolling over the bumps.
Watch for deer on your drive in. They’re not too scared of folks at camp, either!
Early Friday morning, the campsites and parking lot were mostly full. It seemed to be the same upon return Friday evening.
Unused wag bags available at the trailhead.
There was a good amount of toilet paper in the pit toilets, but always bring your own in case.
The Ascent:
It looked like most people got an alpine start. Many were skinning and skiing, and many were opting for the Southwest Chutes descent.
My party left the trailhead just after 7AM, “late” for most people, but the four of us are very much in our good sleep eras and planned for that.
The trail below treeline is in fantastic condition. Last year, there was a ton of downed wood post winter storms, but this year it’s taken care of very well.
We only ran into a couple people until Lunch Counter, but could see the specks of groups spread out on the upper mountain.
Intermittent, packed snow started at just over 1 mile up the trail.
The snow turned consistent at 1.5 miles (6,360’) but had great traction for boots and was still very packed.
We chose the Crescent Glacier route (the west/"summer" route) option, though it’s clear that people are still using the South Butte route (the east/“winter” route) option.
Near the Round The Mountain trail, we veered slightly east (where I believe the dirt path will be once more snow melts), but then had to rock-hop down a bit of scree to veer back west to traverse over to the snowfields. Probably added 5-10 minutes, but we wanted to stay on the west route marked by posts.
At around treeline, 2.6 miles in and at 7,340’, we took a break and put on crampons for extra traction. I also put on my gaiters, though they weren’t needed for the ascent.
We created our own steps across the wide snowfields towards Lunch Counter.
Just past Lunch Counter, we unpacked our ice axes and began the steep ascent up.
The snow got super soft starting around 10:30am.
We’d been sweating a lot by then— it was a warm day! Gaining elevation helped cool us off, and I was comfortable the rest of the day as we got higher.
It was a “choose your own adventure” up Crescent Glacier. Climbers were scattered all about between the ridges, some skinning, some stair-stepping, some zig-zagging their way up. We stayed toward climber’s left and made our own switchbacks up, with firmer but not icy snow as we ascended.
Be mindful when approaching rocks, since you could easily posthole into them where the snow is shallower.
We find that there are 3 “pitches” with slightly flatter rest points between Lunch Counter and Piker’s Peak, so we took little snack breaks at each, including one at Piker’s.
There were no ropes yet at Piker’s marking the path like they sometimes put up there to deter folks from accidentally descending the wrong way. Make sure you don’t follow the fall line if you’re looking to head back down the South Climb versus the Southwest Chutes or elsewhere.
The Summit:
Sunny, warm weather continued for our final push from Piker’s up to the summit.
There were just a few folks at the summit, and everyone was quite friendly and complimented our outfits.
We stayed at the summit for 50 minutes, since wind was minimal. Clouds accumulated throughout our time up there, and they began to obscure views of the other volcanoes.
The Descent:
We could glissade straight from the summit to the Piker’s traverse, then all the way to Lunch Counter!
(The skiing looked fun, too. Much better than last June.)
Glad I remembered the rain pants this time. Between the rain pants, my gaiters, my beloved LOWA boots, and my new obsession of Flylow top layers, I felt perfectly dressed for the slide down.
I threw in about a dozen self-arrest practice drills, which was fun, and my layers kept me dry and happy.
The mountain was far less crowded this late in the day, though plenty of folks were making their way up to camp out at Lunch Counter. Plenty of tent spots, though we didn’t check for running water.
There were a couple glissade chutes down below Lunch Counter too.
A smooth and simple descent. I nailed my water allowance of 3 liters, but would’ve felt prepared bringing extra. Glad I had my new favorite electrolyte mix too (LMNT).
I definitely could’ve packed more snacks. I’m training for a 100 mile race, and I forgot just how many calories I need these days. I snagged a bar from Katie which led me to have the perfect amount of food (and then I wolfed down nachos when I got home).
My watch said 11.1 miles, 6,850’ of gain. (And, for the number nerds: Heart rate average of 120, max of 165. About 1mph average, 6.5mph max except I was a slow glissader. Over 7 hours from car to summit, almost 3.5 from summit to car.)
Altogether, a casual and fun almost 12 hours on the mountain, women-powered and stoke-fueled! A perfect Girls’ Girls Day.
Did you get value from this trip report? Please donate $5 to my Adventure Fundraiser! I’m attempting a 100 mile race on Mt. Hood to raise nonprofit grant funding to get more youth girls on mountaineering and wilderness experiences.