Mount Adams Climb
Taking the Next Step on Adams
By Gene Pires
Often times I get asked on courses, “Is that mountain hard?” My usual reply is, “Every mountain has a relatively easy side and a hard side”. Mt Adams is no exception. The south side of Adams is dominated by the south spur, a non-glaciated low angle snow climb to the summit, which is perfect for beginners testing themselves on a large volcano. Hundreds of men, women and dogs make their way up the south spur and then walk, butt slide, ski and snowboard back down. We didn’t come to this happy side. We came to see Adams meaner and darker side.
Adams, at 12,276 ft, is second in height in Washington to Rainier which lies a short distance to the north. Our route is called the Adams glacier and is easily the best route on the mountain. The glacier forms on the summit dome and then pours down into a large bowl, cascading again down a steep slope to the base and then fanning out to a large plain for a total of 3 miles and 5000 vertical feet of drop. The steepest parts of the glacier carve their way through steep rock walls and averages in angle between 20 and 45 degrees.
Our high camp was at 7,505 feet and next to a lake. It took 8 hours of hiking to get there but the views were great and we were very close to the start of the climb. Waking up at the standard zero-dark-thirty, we started hiking towards the route following the glow of our familiar tiny LED lights. Headlamps were not needed for long because it was only a few days away from the summer solstice. We roped up for glacier travel as the sun rose. This was the first warm week of the summer so the snow never completely refroze. At the base of the steeper parts (8,400 ft), we switched to using two tools and brought out the ice screws and many extra pickets for running belays. The lower half of the route averages 30 degrees in steepness for 1,000 feet of elevation gain. This was a calf burning stretch but we found a nice sheltered rest spot below a large ice wall. During the break, a refrigerator sized ice block came free 30 feet to our left and hurtled down to the base of the route. We were reminded that speed is in fact safety in the mountains. Several ice steps, running belays, crevasse jumping and classic diagonal ascending got us to the crux of the climb, the upper bergschrund at 10,600 ft. It was a monster. It spanned the entire glacier width and was 60 feet across and 80 feet deep. We had to somehow pass this beast on its left side.
Our first two options didn’t work as they involved either down climbing into the ‘schrund and walking along the floor (looks like a false floor hiding even more crevasse below) or a 6ft jump across a crevasse on its extreme left side (which we didn’t have the energy to pull off). Between the two bad options, we traversed across an ice wall and then weaved our way between seracs. While probing out a suspicious area, I fully fell into a crevasse but luckily this one is only 4 feet deep. There was more tenuous crevasse crossings (sometimes crawling across) and steep ground but eventually we made it to the left and above the ‘schrund. We found a safe and non glaciated area to take another well earned rest in the upper bowl area.
Another hour of climbing out of the bowl and across the huge summit area (.5 mile across) got us to the true summit. Strangely we had the summit and views to ourselves. It was cold and windy so our stay was brief before we descended down the north ridge and back to our lovely camp by the lake.
The Adams glacier route is a very rewarding technical glacier route. It is probably one of my favorites this year. I highly recommend this route to anybody who is solid in the skills taught during our 6-Day, 13-Day or Ice Courses. Good fitness is a must for speed is safety. More important is endurance as there are few places to take long rests safely so climbing for 2 hours straight is a possibility. Having done Rainier is a good stepping stone for this challenging and rewarding route.