Mt. Adams Skills and Climb

Location: Mount Adams, Southern Cascades
Length: 3 days
Max Ratio: 5 climbers: 1 guide (5:1)
Prerequisites: Previous backpacking experience
Cost: Please call for details.

​Location: Mount Adams, Southern Cascades
Length: 4 days
Max Ratio: 2 climbers to one guide (2:1) or 4 climbers to 2 guides (4:2)
Prerequisites: Glacier travel, ice climbing
Cost: Please call for details.

*We run this program on a private basis, please call for more details.

• Good physical fitness
• Ability to carry a 45 – 55 lb backpack for multiple hours
• Stamina to hike for over 8 hours (including breaks, and with lesser pack weight)
• Ability to cook for yourself on a backpacking stove
• Overnight backpacking experience
  • If you lack overnight backpacking experience, you can add a 2-dayBackpacking and Wilderness Skills course at a discounted price.

Also called the Suksdorf Ridge, this route is considered to be one of the easiest and safest routes on a Cascades volcano. This non-technical “walk-up” ascends moderate slopes on the south side of this gentle giant of a mountain. The South Spur has a gentle enough angle that a cabin was built on the summit in 1921. A trail to the top was constructed and maintained in order to service a sulfur mine near the cabin. At the height of mining activity, pack mule trains were herded up and down the route on a regular basis.

Though the route has few technical difficulties, it does require good overall physical fitness. Climbers should be prepared for two long days of movement.

The South Spur trip runs over the course of two and a half days. On the first day, you’ll meet your guide, do a thorough gear check and then drive to the mountain. On the second day you’ll ascend onto the Crescent Glacier, ultimately achieving the “Lunch Counter” and our camp at 9,400 feet. On the third day you’ll ascend the South Spur to the summit at 12,276 feet. We offer this climb from May through July each year.

The South Spur route climbs the left-hand skyline. This is a classic beginner route. Martin Kempher.

Ski Descent:
With approximately seven thousand feet of vertical relief between the parking lot and the summit, the South Spur is an excellent ski mountaineering objective. From the top of the mountain there are a number of descent options. Some skiers reverse their ascent by going back down the South Spur, whereas others will descend the steeper Southwest Chutes or Avalanche Glacier. We offer this trip from March through June.

The massive Adams Glacier spills down between two towering rock walls on the northwest aspect of this volcanic giant. In its course it drops all the way from the 12,276-foot summit to the 7,000-foot level in a series of spectacular ice falls. As the angle of the mountain decreases at lower altitude, the terminus the glacier spreads out gently into five different tongues separated by large moraines.

The three-and-a-half-day ascent starts with a meeting with the guide and a thorough gear check followed by travel to the mountain. On the second day we approach through the forest and onto the flanks of the mountain. Once we’ve reached our camp we’ll review glacier and climbing skills before preparing for the ascent the next day.

Early the next morning, we work our way up gentle slopes and then move onto steeper terrain. We reach the crux of the climb at approximately 10,000 feet where the route weaves through a steep icefall that requires skilled climbing through a maze of seracs. After nearly a thousand feet of steep terrain, the angle decreases. Following time on the summit, the team we descend the non-technical North Ridge and return to base camp for a night of rest before walking out.

While the South Spur route may see dozens of climbers on the same day, the Adams Glacier sees just a fraction of that number, and on most days, we have the route entirely to ourselves. Intermediate and advanced climbers who are looking for solitude and adventure will find both on this little climbed aspect of the mountain. This technical route is ideally suited for small teams early in the Northwest climbing season (May-July 10th each season.)

By either route, Mount Adams can offer you an enjoyable climbing challenge in an incredibly beautiful setting.