[Bedivere]

No, I'm not really planning to take three days to climb & ski Mt. Adams. I just happen to have 3 day long weekends and could do it in that timeframe. Thinking of doing it as an overnight. Drive down and climb up to Lunch Counter first day, summit and ski down/drive back next day. I've never done Adams before, would really like to cross it off my list. Anyone interested in joining me? Oh yeah, weather dependent of course.

[Michael Lewis]

I'd love to come, but I need to learn how to ski first

[Bryan K]

I'd come if I owned skis.

[Jason Hummel]

I was just there; the mountain is good! I wouldn't climb all the way to lunch counter if you are going to ski. Great views from treeline on one of the ridges a bit from the main track and a easy 5k hike from there and a better ski back IMHO. Then you are set up to do it again the next day ... then ski out

[Gary-n-Jan]

Definitely agree with Jason's advice. We were also there this last weekend. Conditions were great. By camping at lower elevation, you have the option of skiing the Southwest Chutes. Here is a link to a few pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryJanH/20100626MtAdamsSWChutes# Gary and Jan

[Bedivere]

Hey, thanks for the advice on the route! I've been hearing from other folks as well that I should camp lower if I want to ski SW chutes. This might end up being a solo trip if no one else wants to go...

[altasnob]

Still heading out to Adams? I'm interested but only have the weekend off.

[joker]

If I shake my POS cold, I may head down Friday afternoon (hoping to leave work early enough to escape at least some traffuc) and do a day tour Saturday, with the plan being to drive home Saturday night. Let me know if that is of interest, CW. I might have another partner or two for the venture.

[Bedivere]

[joker]

Have fun! I'm mostly over the cold, but my smarter half (my wife) tells me I'm silly to be thinking of heading down to ski Adams on Saturday. I think I'm going to listen to her and do something just a teeny bit mellower and a lot closer to home. I bet it will be good, despite the apsersions Steve is casting (maybe he changed his mind - I see he deleted the post). You may still be able to ski the traverse out from the chutes, but in any case I'll pass along that last year I finally wised up and brought along some lightweight running shoes for the hike from TH to snow, and more importantly for the traverse out, which we ended up doing on dirt on the RMT. It was dramatically more pleasant than hiking out in my ski boots, which I've done a few times (first time I did the chutes, we managed to ski out with only a couple of short de-skis). Strong agreement with Jason on suggestion for a camp location. Those ridges are a beauty spot for a camp, and why ski the full pack higher than you need to?

[DIYSteve]

[joker]

How long an approach hike to hit snow there for your trip last weekend? The S#!+ show is kind of amusing. Maybe it's just that I kind of miss the carnival atmostphere of lunch rocks at the base of Tuckerman's Ravine on a hot sunny April day. Somewhere I have a nice photo of about 30 of us, from various groups, all posing shirts-off at the summit. Good fun. Plus, where else can you find a fall line as big and consistent as the chutes, at least w/o some sort of superhuman approach? I have to admit that this is the big draw of Adams for me. Maybe I've been lucky - I hit a little punchy crust-over-mush for about a third of the chutes on one out of four trips, but otherwise have had awesome corn the whole way, with some amusing turns here and there on the shuffle out from the bottom (and one out of four of those trips yielded great turns from the summit as well - more of a rarity from what I've read). Plus, I do like day tours - carrying a camp plus skis and boots on my back for the approach is just not high on my "must do" list.

[DIYSteve]

[joker]

I love both wilderness AND S#!+ shows, but not at the same time. I'd rather see the show on the top of Adams than the crowd at Bumbershoot, but that's just me. It's definitely not where I'd go if seeking solitude, but frankly, for most of the winter we're breaking our own trails and seeing no other parties on our tours... Check out the descriptions of the snow on Adams from last weekend and into this week, particularly from folks who have done it multiple times. The crappy June has apparently left us with way smoother snow than we have a right to expect at this point in the season in many spots. ETA: thanks for the tip on GR, though - I do want to check it out for a spring/summer ski sometime, but this is not going to be the year for me (and I think I need to work on pack weight a bit and toughen up so I can be more like you ).

[Bedivere]

I can appreciate your viewpoint Steve, but you're jaded. You've done Adams several times and lots of other stuff I've never done. I've NEVER done it and I want to get it done. I wanted to do it last year but the timing was never right. Now I have a partner who's been up there before and the weather will be good, I'd be a fool not to go. It *is* the second highest volcano in the state and will be the highest I've ever climbed, and I believe the highest I've ever stood on solid ground. I don't really care how many other people are up there, this isn't about wilderness solitude, it's about doing something I've never done before and skiing a big volcano. There was a big crowd on St. Helens too, that didn't bother me. This will be the second volcano I've skied this year, and I'm hoping to get at least one more in before the year is out. Also, TRs from Adams indicate it's in great shape right now, with smooth corn snow from top to bottom and there's plenty of snow down low. Enough snow in fact that you start skinning within a half mile of the trailhead. Here's one from Wednesday: http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=17112.0 Finally, I don't have three days. I only have tomorrow and Sunday. Our current plan is to camp at, or very close to the trailhead Saturday then go up with nothing but the most minimal (light) gear. This minimizes any problems with finding our stash of gear on the way back down and minimizes weight on the way up. Of course, it does mean climbing just about the whole thing in one day... That's where my current lack of conditioning is probably going to bite me. We'll see.