| Steve Dougherty ~ Aug 14, 2009 |
| This was my seventh summit of Mt. Adams and fifth with the Chemeketans. My last climb of Mt. Adams was back in August of 2005. Although the route has remained unchanged, this was the least snow that I had ever seen in all of my climbs. The structure on the summit was completely free of snow except for the shaded patch on the north side. The people manning the Trout Creek Ranger Station blamed the lack of snow on the record hot spell in July. After a pre-climb photo at the trailhead we steadily made our way to our 7900 foot high camp. The partly cloudy skies and modestly warm temperature made for near ideal conditions. From our high camp we could view Mt. Hood to our south and eventually Mt. St. Helens to our west. We could even see the summit of Mt. Jefferson peaking over the eastern shoulder of Mt. Hood. The summit of Mt. Adams remained shrouded in clouds for much of the afternoon and evening. We departed for the summit at 5:15 a.m. the next morning under clear skies and a calm wind. We had a clear view of the upper mountain but noted that Mt. St. Helens was buried in the cloud layer below us. The group was allowed to split into two groups; one led by Keith Hill and the other by me to accommodate the varied pace of party members. A steady stream of climbers would summit the mountain, including a European and Asian group. Due to the lack of snow we did not glissade from the false summit because of the steepness and the rocky run out. However, a shorter but still lengthy glissade nearly all the way to the lunch counter made the trip down much easier. Upon returning to camp the group immediately broke their high camp and made their way to the trailhead at their own speed. After signing out at the ranger station we chose to meet at a Restaurant on BZ Corner instead of the Bear Creek Café in hopes of faster service. Summit certificates were distributed as the large group reflected on the events of the past two days. We went our separate ways at 8:30 p.m. |