May 8, 2019, Mt.Adams, SW chute
5/8/19
WA Cascades West Slopes South (Mt Rainier)
2080
0
So you are wondering if you can drive to Cold Cr CampGround (CG).
No you can't. I skied down the road yesterday, you have a mile and a half of walking but by tonight, if you can drive the few hundred feet just above the gate near Morrison CG you are golden iff you can find parking on the shoulder higher up. There are still a couple feet of snow at Cold Cr CG w/ two dry patches for camping.
IMHO, for this wk-end, instead of walking/skinning up the rd to Cold Cr, just start walking up the Shorthorn Tr. from Morrison CG (half mile walk untill good skinning). From where you lose the trail then head strait up the mostly open drainage the join the standard rt. Returning this way give you lots more skiing and half as much traversing up and down.
SNOW! Is damn near perfect. We left at dawn from Morrison CG and found minimal post-holing then we joined the summer rt. (Route Normal/South Spur/ South Rt.) and started skinning. Soft enough to skin, hard enought not to work at breaking trail.
We stared up the S Face around 9a.m., got to the first false summit at about 11a.m. where we de-skinned and skied over to the first odvious entrance to the (1st) SW chute. This was the only *bad* skiing - rime filled w/ snow.
The top half of the descent had burried frozen ice runnels. The lower half was hero snow.
NO SUNCUPS YEY!
IF u want pics, go to it and take em yourself :)
Have fun. David B, Andrew N, and I are headed to Tuolome Meadows for a weeklong tour.
No you can't. I skied down the road yesterday, you have a mile and a half of walking but by tonight, if you can drive the few hundred feet just above the gate near Morrison CG you are golden iff you can find parking on the shoulder higher up. There are still a couple feet of snow at Cold Cr CG w/ two dry patches for camping.
IMHO, for this wk-end, instead of walking/skinning up the rd to Cold Cr, just start walking up the Shorthorn Tr. from Morrison CG (half mile walk untill good skinning). From where you lose the trail then head strait up the mostly open drainage the join the standard rt. Returning this way give you lots more skiing and half as much traversing up and down.
SNOW! Is damn near perfect. We left at dawn from Morrison CG and found minimal post-holing then we joined the summer rt. (Route Normal/South Spur/ South Rt.) and started skinning. Soft enough to skin, hard enought not to work at breaking trail.
We stared up the S Face around 9a.m., got to the first false summit at about 11a.m. where we de-skinned and skied over to the first odvious entrance to the (1st) SW chute. This was the only *bad* skiing - rime filled w/ snow.
The top half of the descent had burried frozen ice runnels. The lower half was hero snow.
NO SUNCUPS YEY!
IF u want pics, go to it and take em yourself :)
Have fun. David B, Andrew N, and I are headed to Tuolome Meadows for a weeklong tour.
Reply to this TR
Please login first: