August 29-30, 2009 Mt. Adams climb via South Route
David Kern (trip leader), Greer White, John Sullivan, Lynn Sullivan, Terrance, Travis Johnson and Tony Ackerman
Saturday morning we gathered at the Mt. Adams RS and after getting our permits we drove up to the Cold Springs campground trailhead.
The hike to Lunch Counter started at about 12:30 and we arrived at 5 pm. We set up camp and after dinner we settled in for the night. The weather was cloudy and very windy. The wind howled pretty much all night with little relief.
Sunday morning we got up and hit the trail about 7:30. The snow fields weren't as large as in 2004 but Travis and I used all we could find to crampon up the mountain. The rest of the group bore to left of the snowfield above Lunch Counter to use a more rocky path. Travis and I were at Piker's Peak (false summit) about 9:45 am. After waiting for the group we decided to go ahead and summit. The weather was cloudy all day with only the occasional small glimpse of the mountain. Once we left Pikers Peak the wind really increased and by the time we got to the summit it was howling at least 50 mph. After a few quick pictures at the summit shelter (not really any shelter as the dilapidated building is filled with ice) we headed down. We met the rest of our group just as they were starting the steep section to the summit. Travis and I headed down to camp and took a nap. After breaking camp we headed out. It took about 3 hours to got back to the trailhead at 6 pm.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Mt. St. Helens Winter camping and Summit - Feb 15-16, 2009
Bruce Allan, Ray Schmelzer and I drove up to Marble Mtn Sno-Park on Sunday Feb 15 for our annual winter camping trip. Conditions were pretty good since it had been snowing most of the week before. However, we almost bailed because it rained all the way from Portland to the split in the road that takes you to Marble Mtn. Marble Mtn had good snow and no rain so the few hundred feet of elevation gain was all it took to improve conditions.
We strapped on the packs and headed up the Swift Creek trail. The weather was mostly clear and the sun came through a few times. Temps were moderate to warm. We skinned up to timberline in short order and found a good place to pitch the tents. The trail was pretty well compressed with lots of snowshoers, some skiers and even folks going up in only boots.
Since we had some daylight left, Bruce and I decided to ski up the mountain and get the lay of the land since none of us had been up there before. Ray was suffering from a cold so he decided to stay in his tent. We went up as far as we could see route posts and then started to run out of light so we came back to camp.
We all individually cooked dinner and melted snow and were pretty much in bed by 7 pm. The temp was about 32-35, so the sleeping was fine. Sky was clear and when I peaked out of the tent in the middle of the night the sky was brillant with stars.
Monday Feb 16 was President's Day so that's why we were off work. It dawned nice and clear so we decided to make a run for the Rim. Ray's condition had worsened during the night. He said that he didn't feel like he needed to go home but he wasn't in any condition to climb either. We gave him keys to the Element and he made his way back.
Bruce and I started climbing after breakfast and melting water...at 9 am...so there were other climbers on the trail ahead of us. We skinned up about one third of the distance from tree line to the top. Then we stashed the skis and booted it the rest of the way. Crampons and an ice ax would have been nice to have but since we hadn't planned on a summit assault we did not bring them. The conditions however were not bad...most places had at least 3-5 inches of snow that made for good toe holds. Below the loose snow however as a layer of hard blue ice. The weather was very windy and there was always a cloud around the top but there wasn't any new snow. The temp was nippy but fine. We made the rim about 1 pm. Its a steep climb and with the clouds and wind it just seemed to go on forever.
Once at the Rim, there wasn't a whole lot to see. Matter of fact, we had to be sure we saw the Rim and didn't walk off into the Crater. We snapped a few images and headed back down. I broke both Black Diamond telescoping ski poles on the way down...before I even got back to my skis...so that made the descent a bit tricky.
We loaded up the tents and actually walked on down the trail...it was pretty compressed by then and walking was the easiest. We got back to the car at 5:30 pm and found Ray sleeping but feeling pretty miserable.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
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