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Alpine Scramble - Mount Adams/South Spur

1 day scramble of Mt Adams

Mark Scheffer Mark Scheffer
July 17, 2021
  • Road recommended for high clearance only

  • The road to cold springs is VERY rough the last 3-4 miles.  I had a Tacoma 4x4 and worried about bottoming out several times.  It IS doable by  non 4x4 vehicles but  be very careful on how you navigate the pot holes and short "steps" the road takes in places.  

We started at 5am and reached the summit at 11:15am.  The snow has melted exceedingly fast this year. The ranger warned us it was a month ahead of schedule for melt out. the last 500' to the false summit as well as the route up to the true summit was completely melted out and involved chossy dirt/rock travel that was rather unpleasant. 

The summit was 100% melted out  and the cabin was fully exposed. i've never seen more than the roof and part of the upper side in all the years I've climbed Adams.  

The descent was a bit unpleasant due to the dirt/rocks but also the snow had not softened up much so it was a mix of plunge stepping and trying to see and dodge the ice patches (not 100% successful either).  The legendary glissade was not in shape at all and pretty much not doable, even where there was snow. 

The permits are all online now but at the ranger station they have it set up so you can scan the code with your phone and then register and pay online (they did not let anyone in the ranger station but it was staffed with a helpful ranger that talked to us through the glass microphone).    All of us had cell coverage in Trout Lake on different providers.