All seasons rightfully must come to a close, and winter in the Pacific Northwest stretched out considerably long this year, particularly given its slow start. With a lot of travel this year, it was especially slow starting for me, shocking one ski partner when I revealed only 4 or 5 days on snow just after New Year. I insisted I’d catch up with him eventually this season, and while it took a while, I finally did. Looking back on a respectable 55-day season, it was the quality of days skied that really stuck out.
For the second year in a row, weather, conditions, and willing companions all came together to close out the season with a climb and ski of Mt Adams, Washington’s second highest peak. A spectacular Cascade volcano, Adams is also a pretty legendary slog. Last summer, Darrin and I blasted out the iconic SW Chutes in a 18-mile, 7500′ day (report here). With a Friday-Sunday weather forecast of blue skies and warm weather, Lulu and I opted to split it up into a longer adventure and do some late spring/early summer camping too.
I’ll let the photos tell the story below, but the weekend couldn’t have been nicer… A dusky evening climb on Friday to a perfect campsite, leisurely but steady climbing on Saturday all the way to the true summit, perfect corn skiing for several thousand feet on the SW Chutes, a lazy afternoon and second evening camping out in solitude on Adams, an easy exit on Sunday down to Hood River for beers and burgers at Full Sail, and an impromptu roadtrip up the eastern side of the Cascades through The Dalles, Yakima, Ellensberg, and back to Seattle.
Mt Adams from Trout Lake, with our line on the SW Chutes seen dead center.
Skinning in to the campsite on Friday evening in the alpenglow.
Climbing high on the South Face, the green fields of summer below and Mount Hood off in the distance. Temperatures were soaring, but the snow stayed great.
Lulu and I on our second Cascade volcano of the year, with Mount Rainier in the distance.
Perfect skiing conditions for July, with St Helens in the distance.
Lulu napping after a successful climb and ski of Adams.
Taken from camp on Saturday night, the sun sets over the Cascade Mountains and the 2011-2012 ski season for Lulu and me. From powder days at Alpental to Jackson Hole with the Lozners, France, Switzerland and Italy on our April vacation, long-admired routes close to home in the Cascades, and several firsts on Mount Baker and Mount Adams for both Lulu and me, it’s been a fantastic season. Time for summer…