Mount Adams marked the start of my climbing season. Through researching, I discovered the South Spur route. But it wasn’t at all technical as I thought. I read through trip reports by solo climbers. So I knew I could tackle it on my own.
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Mount Adams at a Glance
Access: Cold Springs Campground
Round Trip: 16 miles
Elevation Range: 5600′-12276′
Gear: helmet, crampons, ice ax
GPS Track: available
Mount Adams Climb
It was a long, five-hour drive from Seattle. So I didn’t get to Cold Springs Campground until late at night. Then I slept for four hours in the car. The next morning, I started walking earlier and made my way up to Lunch Counter.
It had been cloudy along the way. So I began to question the sunny forecast. But as I went higher, the clouds slowly dissipated. Then the false summit, aka Pikers Peak, came into full view.
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Attitude Sickness
The first time I experienced altitude sickness was on the way up to Camp Muir. But back then, I didn’t know what it was until after the trip. My Mount Rainier trip is coming up next weekend. So I hoped to use this trip to acclimate.
But just as I had feared, I started having headaches right below Lunch Counter. It was around 10k elevation, like at Camp Muir. Soon afterward, I began to feel nausea. So that made the next 2000′ climb rather brutal.
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Resting at the Foot of Pikers Peak
After coming up the steep section, I then rested below Pikers Peak. There I was able to get some water and food in me finally. Meanwhile, I talked to a few skiers as they came down. Then after half an hour, I felt anew!
The rest of the way up to the summit seemed long. But now that I felt 100% better, I was able to focus better. Note to self: “Drink lots of water and eat before and during a big climb!”
See more trip photos here.
Mount Adams Summit Plus Views
Holy cow! The views up here had exceeded my expectations a hundredfold! I could virtually see every single volcano in the Cascades. So there was Mount Hood, Mount Bachelor, Mount Saint Helens, and, of course, Mount Rainier!
Unfortunately, clouds had covered Mount Rainier and Mount Saint Helens most of the time. So I couldn’t get a good look at the mountains. But I managed to photograph them when the clouds dissipated momentarily.
See more trip photos here.
Outro
Mount Adams was my fourth volcano and the second where I was alone on the summit. On the way down, I finally experienced the thrill of glissading through the steep section. It turned out to be an excellent and memorable trip!