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Has anyone climbed Mount Adams in Washington? If so, any info you could share would be wonderful.

CODave, sdkeil, and Azscott just climbed it in July - hopefully they can chime in. What info are you looking for specifically?

I climbed it last May. What information where you looking for specifically? Here is a link to the trip report I wrote if that helps: http://www.zachtaylorsnowboarding.com/Mt_Adams.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . Let me know what questions you have.

Taylor & Keller! Thank you for the reply (and the link!). I was looking for info on the standard route (non-technical). I have read some posts on another site but was hoping for a little more help with best month for climbing conditions (trail and weather) for sure. We climbed Rainier last summer which was fantastic but it was with a guide service, so, this would be on our own.

What did you think of the climb? We were also going to do Mt St Helens.

The standard route is the easiest route by far. Put one foot in front of the other. Depending upon the conditions, an ice axe and crampons are helpful. We did not rope up on this peak. Very windy summit. When to do it will depend upon how much snow they get. That road (and undulating affair) leading in to the parking area/trailhead will need to be passable to make your approach feasible. On a clear day, the views are awesome, but that is generally the case with that entire line of volcanoes.

By all means, if you can get St. Helens in, do so. We spent a few days there the first time we climbed it and did all the touristy stuff ... traveling to the blast side of the mountain, the theatre presentation, hiking down into the valley of the blast zone, etc. in addition to summiting.

You do have to have a permit to do St. Helens ... not so with Mt. Adams.

Yeah the standard route is the easiest, it is called the south ridge or suksdorf(? not sure of the exact spelling here) ridge. There are no crevasses or need for ropes on the standard route. The Mazama glacier and White Salmon glacier make moderate glacier/crevasse climbs as well if you wanted a glacier experience. Mid summer is probably the easiest time of year to climb Adams. Spring is a pretty awesome time as well, few people, more snow, etc...
You do actually need a permit for Adams now. I am assuming this is a somewhat new thing since Presto did not know this. We got our permit at the ranger station a little ways below the trailhead. Ours was free because we went during off season but it costs money for summer season (starts early June?). I remember noticing this when I was in the ranger station. Permits are somewhat expensive as far as permits go too. I want to say $60 but cannot remember for sure. I think there are plenty of them though. I would call the forest service office to find out costs/availibility
Helens has a very limited number of permits. That is something you need to plan well in advance. I have had trouble getting permits both times I have tried and consequently, have not been able to climb Helens yet and both times I was there in spring not summer.
Adams is a beautiful mountain and a fun time. Good luck!

Here is what the standard route looked like in October: I'm not sure if the fire impacted the access road.

by taylorzs » Fri Dec 07, 2012 10:37 am
You do actually need a permit for Adams now. I am assuming this is a somewhat new thing since Presto did not know this. We got our permit at the ranger station a little ways below the trailhead. Ours was free because we went during off season but it costs money for summer season (starts early June?). I remember noticing this when I was in the ranger station. Permits are somewhat expensive as far as permits go too. I want to say $60 but cannot remember for sure.

Oops .. I'm showing my age ... Guess they pretty much do a permit for everything now? Thanks for the clarification.

I have read some posts on another site but was hoping for a little more help with best month for climbing conditions (trail and weather) for sure.

July and August usually have the best weather.

What did you think of the climb?

The standard route on Mt Adams is not like Rainier. It's more of a snow slog, similar to say, the highest peaks of the Sawatch in the springtime.

There are no crevasses. The scenery and views are nice, but the route isn't as spectacular as most of the other Cascade Volcanoes. In this sense, I found it to be slightly disappointing (I am from Washington), but it's still a nice climb. The north side is more scenic, but the routes are more difficult to climb.

I think the permits are $15 now days.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/giffordpi ... rdb5144542

Zach - permits aren't that expensive for Adams, seems to be 15$ for weekends (30$ for annual). Rainier is around 47$ these days, Shasta 20$, Hood free if I remember correctly.

edit : Scott P beat me to it!

Oh cool, that is less expensive than I thought. I was not sure since we were there early enough in the year for them to not be charging yet.

Thank you everybody for good info (permit fees, better dates, ect) Taylor, thats a pretty awesome web page you have! Thanks again