Mount Adams Solo Summit

Summiting Mount Adams has been on my list for a few years now, but I had not considered a solo attempt, so I kept putting it off. Now, after returning from living in England and focusing on learning to live and do things alone, I have decided to prioritize the hikes, climbs, locations and experience that I have always wanted to do, and accept that I'll need to do them independently, but gladly enjoy them with company if the opportunity arises.

I originally had planned to attempt climbing Mount Adams at the end of summer, but with COVID-19, I flipped my plans and started heading towards Washington State from California at the end of June. I was targeting summiting Mount Shasta around 19 June, which I completed; I had a permit to attempt Mount Saint Helens on June 24th which I also summited; and then would start watching the Mount Adams weather closely to pick a date between 26 June and 9 July; before ending up in Seattle on the 10th.

I use mountain-forecast.com and NOAA in order to check the weather and after dealing with 25+ mile per hour winds on Mount Saint Helens, the next week was look too windy up on Adams for my comfort. As the 4th of July weekend approached, I noticed that the winds were starting to calm down to 10 to 15 miles per hour and the potential for some clear days. I had committed to camping in Ashford, Washington outside Mount Rainier National Park for the 3rd to 5th of July so I was leaning towards scrapping Mount Adams until later in the year, but I kept checking the weather and ultimately decided if I felt good on Sunday after reading the latest trail reports, I would attempt to summit on Monday, July 6th.

On Sunday morning, the weather report for Mount Adams looked good with 10 mph winds and clear skies until Monday evening. Additionally, a trail report from July 4th reported good conditions, easy to follow tracks and they only used micro spikes. I had also been going back and forth on whether to rent leather boots and crampons from Whittaker's Mountaineering since I was right there in Ashford, but made the decision to forgo them and stick to my trail running shoes and micro spikes, similar to when I summited Mount Saint Helens, because the temperatures and winds did not seem extreme.

Road up to the South Climb Trailhead.

After breaking down my camp site in Ashford and getting my summit permit off of recreation.gov, I hopped in my truck and headed to the Mount Adams South Climb trailhead. The drive alone was beautiful (though bumpy) on the forest service roads through the trees with glimpses of Mount Adams along the way. I stopped in Trout Lake for a late lunch before doing the final drive up to the trailhead, and I was so happy to have my truck for the rocky, beat up road. On the way up I passed a Prius that was pulled over to check the bottom of the car for damage, and a Subaru getting a tire changed. But after a dusty 45 minutes, I pulled into the parking lot, which was still busy from 4th of July climbers and campers still heading out. I again took advantage of the long daylight hours to setup my truck for sleeping in the back and preparing my gear, while listening to podcasts. As I settled in for the night, I set an alarm for 2 a.m. but then pushed that back to 4 a.m. so that I could get more sleep if possible.

Getting Comfortable in my Truck

After waking up around midnight needing to pee, the sky was bright with an almost full moon. I tried to get back to sleep but only dozed and after hearing other climbers start to head out, I ended up getting going at 2 a.m. after all. After going over my gear one final time, I hit the trail just before 2:30 a.m. My key gear list included:

• Trail running shoes with gaiters

• Waterproof socks with foot warmers

• Microspikes

• Ice Axe

• Hiking Pole

• Softshell pants over wool thermals

• Puffy Jacket, over a wool vest, over a long sleeve wool shirt, over a wool tank top and bra

• Neck warmer buff with ear warmer covered by my Helmet

• Headlamp

• Hiking Pack

• Rain Pants and Warm Jacket Layers

• Emergency Bivy Bag

• Garmin InReach

• Cellphone

• Bean Burritos and Snickers Bars

• 4 Liters of Water with Electrolytes

• Other essentials: sunglasses, first aid kit, extra foot/hand warmer

The first two miles on trail were easy on the rock and dirt and the views of the mountain, stars and moon were very rewarding. I starting hitting patches of snow from miles 2 to 3, and I strapped on my micro spikes once I started going more uphill in the frozen snow. The spikes gripped the frozen snow well, as I easily followed the foot prints from other climbers. While early and a Monday, there were still other climbers ahead and behind me, so I also kept a look out for the lights of their headlamps to ensure I didn't stray off course.

Moon shining through the trees.

As I continued to hike up to Lunch Counter and Piker's Peak, I was able to witness all of the beautiful, soft purples, pinks, yellows, oranges and blues of the sunrise while the moon still shined brightly behind me. The climb up was relatively uneventful, just slow and steady with only a light breeze here and there and minimal clouds. I was excited to see Mount Hood again behind me and Mount Saint Helens to the West, which made me think about how I had been climbing that mountain a couple weeks earlier looking at Mount Adams. It's a pretty neat experience looking up or across to the mountains where I have stood before, and saying "I did that, I was there" to myself.

Sunrise over the ridge on Mount Adams

After five and a half hours, and passing a few other climbers who were on their way down, I could see the summit and the edge of the lookout hut that is buried in snow. After a few more minutes, I was standing on top of Mount Adams, with the mountain to myself. I could now see Mount Rainier to the North, and I cried. I had now summited Mount Rainier, Mount Saint Helens and Mount Adams, the trifecta in Washington State. I had solo summited Helens and Adams, and also Mount Shasta all in the past month. I felt happy to have accomplished it on my own, I felt sad for all I have lost that brought me to this point, and I truly felt unstoppable.

Mount Adams Summit with Mount Rainier Views

But the journey was not over, as I still had a long way back down the mountain to go. While the sun had been out for awhile now and was starting to soften up the snow, the glissade chutes were still very icy and steep and for the first time, I wish I had gotten the crampons. While the micro spikes were great on the way up, I would have liked bigger spikes to grip the snow on the way down. Additionally, while heading down a particularly steep section, a lady attempted to glissade down, but did not have solid control with her ice axe and lost control and I watched her get tossed like a rag doll for a few hundred feet down the mountain. I was prepared to come upon a broken human, but after picking up her gear she'd lost along the way, she was talking and telling me she was okay and only had chipped a tooth! I was relieved, but rattled. Her climbing partner took over from there, and I continued the slow and careful decent down to Lunch Counter.

Glissade Chute

Closer to Lunch Counter, I decided that the snow was softer and less steep and pulled out my ice axe, removed my micro spikes, and gave the glissading a go. I dug in with my ice axe and did a nice, slow, controlled descent down some significant portions of the mountain after that, which was a relief to my knees. Along the way, I stopped to talk to the many climbers who were carrying skis on the way up, and chat about the conditions, beautiful views and social distancing on the mountain. I felt strong on the way down compared to how tired I felt on Mount Saint Helens.

As I neared the end of the snow to finish the last two miles on the trail, it was getting hot. I start stripping layers and opening vents. Unfortunately, when I took my helmet off and attached it to my backpack, I forgot my headlamp was still on it and it fell off. I hope it has a new home now with someone else. I have a backup lamp in my truck fortunately and a new one is sitting in my Amazon cart with better Lumens so I can order it in time for next big adventure.

I would make some changes for Mount Adams in the future, despite what I read from the trail reports. I would start later in the day to get more sleep and have soft snow for the descent. I would rent the crampons (and the boots you need to fit with them though my feet didn't get too cold). Alternatively, per suggestions from other climbers, if the weather is nice, I could take extra time to relax on the mountain and wait for the snow to soften up to enjoy the higher glissading chutes instead of doing the power hiking I tend to do when I'm alone.

But after 9.5 hours round trip, I successfully and safely returned to the South Climb trailhead parking lot, my truck and the much needed pit toilet. I took my time changing, repacking my gear, and snacking on a Lunchable. It was time to move on and get back on the road to Seattle. I don't have my next mountain planned, but there were beautiful views of Mount Hood, I've never been to Mount Baker, and I have a lot of family in Colorado where the 14ers are plentiful. Until then, I will be spending quality time with friends and enjoying some shorter day hikes.

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