Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Mount Adams/South Spur
Beautiful, clear day. Still good snow conditions, but deteriorating quickly with growing snow cups.
Nancy Lloyd
- Sat, Jul 30, 2016 — Sun, Jul 31, 2016
- Alpine Scramble - Mount Adams/South Spur
- Mount Adams/South Spur
- Scrambling
- Successful
- Road suitable for all vehicles
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The road to the Cold Springs th is rough, narrow, and rutted deeply in places. A sedan would probably make it, but I would recommend a fairly high clearance vehicle. The trail to it's end above the Crescent Bowl is in good shape with no snow. Snow is melting out from the Crescent ridge; the moat presented a minor difficulty, but a boot path will be more obvious as the snow melts.
Beautiful, clear, blue sky weekend. We camped at timberline near the Crescent Bowl with plenty of running water close by. High wind and strong gusts kept everyone awake all Saturday night. But an awesome night sky with the Milky Way and shooting stars were worth being awake for. Snow was rock hard at our dawn start, and crampons were needed all the way. This is a very popular route with over 240 registrations according to Ranger Station personnel. Parking is extremely tight on weekends. Parking for only 200 is available and you may have to park along the road. Get there as early as possible to increase your chances of getting a decent spot. We got to the trailhead about 10:30 and were lucky to find space just off the road. Note that the road and much of the approach trail is very dusty, so plan for you and your gear to get dirty. Glissade shoots are getting deep and fast, and can be icy. You'll need to be good at speed control and self arrest.