Mt. Adams, South Climb 7/23/16

Blizzard-like conditions in the forecast had forced us to postpone the climb for 2 weeks.  The weather turned out really good on this trip.  

 There were a few small clouds rolling, twisting and turning near the summit and moving through camp.  They were not a threat, just awesome to see up close!

 Eating dinner at Lunch Counter.

 Climbers working their way up to the False Summit.

 Looking back down at Lunch Counter.  Mt. Hood in the distance.

 Climbing the last 600' to the true summit.

Happy climbers on the summit.

2 more.

Another group.  Mt. St. Helens in the distance.

Mt. Rainier, DC 7/16/16

Unsettled mountain weather had caused us to postpone or cancel several climbs this summer.  There was a small weather window, so we decided to go for it.

 Setting up our tents on the Cowlitz Glacier at Camp Muir.

 Watching the sunrise from 13,000'.  Mt. Adams in the background.

 The sun rising over a sea of clouds!  Little Tahoma on the right.

 Waiting our turn on the most exposed part of the climb.

Blake, Ron, Doug, Chris, Pete and David on the summit.  It was about 25 degrees and the wind was blowing about 20 mph!

Crossing a couple of ladders above Ingraham Flats!

Camp Muir 6/4/16

We returned to an old favorite for a training hike.  It was nice to get away from the heat at home and spend the day on the snow taking in the great scenery.

 There were dozens of climbers in front of us heading down to the Nisqually Glacier for some crevasse rescue training.

Looking south at the Tatoosh Range, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson and Mt. St. Helens. 

Andrew, Timothy, Jim, Ron, Chris, Pete, Dennis, David and Doug at Camp Muir.

Kaleetan Peak 5/30/16

We finally got a break in the weather and headed up to climb something new

 Ron, Pete, David and Rich at the water slide area of Denny Creek

Keekwulee Falls 

 Kaleetan Peak

 Carefully down-climbing some icy snow on the way to the peak

Ron, David, Doug and Pete on the 6,259' summit

Mt. Stuart 9/12/15

When the forecast is this good, it's time to get out of town and go on an adventure!  Mt. Stuart is close to home, challenging and has great views.  

 The south side was completely snow free

Having some fun on the granite blocks above the False Summit

Mark and Dan nearing the top

 Ingalls Lake

Lake Stuart

Doug, David, Jim, Joe, Dan, Mark and Pete.  We spent over an hour on the 9,415' summit enjoying the perfect weather!  

Mt. Adams, South Climb 7/11/15

 This would be the year that everyone got to climb into a cloud.

It was also a low snow year.  The ridge that we call "Widowmaker" did not have much snow on it!

 Everyone waiting for the high altitude, 3 course gourmet dinner.  The cooks did a great job!

We woke up to a small lenticular dome on the mountain.

 Climbers heading for the dome.

We had sunshine for a while.

A line of climbers coming up from Lunch Counter.

The 1918 fire lookout was melted out pretty good.

 Climbers celebrating on the summit.

Success!

 The temp was in the 40's and it was a little breezy.

You work up quite an appetite climbing a mountain.  Time to head down to the trailhead cheese dog feast, then drive to the nearest city and eat a big dessert!

Mt. Adams, North Face of the NW Ridge 7/3/15

Our plan for the weekend had been to climb a challenging new route on the big mountain.  Unfavorable conditions caused us to drop that idea and try something new on Mt. Adams instead.

You gotta love the beautiful approach on the north side of Adams!  The route starts on the far right.  You ascend the snow slopes, climbing up and left on the near side of the ridge and top out at The Pinnacle.  We would descend the North Ridge on the far left.  

Dan and David above treeline with Mt. Rainier in the background.

Equestria Lake and the Goat Rocks.

Dan and a herd of mountain goats.

Doug kicking steps in the soft snow.

Mark climbing up the steep slope.  A forest fire had just started on the west side of the mountain!  We did not know if it was going to spread to where the car was parked, strand us or what.    

We had just topped out at The Pinnacle and started down the North Ridge when it looked like the smoke might overtake us.  It ended up moving off to the south instead.

There were more mountain goats on the North Ridge.  We made it back down to the trail just before sunset and hiked out to the car in the dark.  The fire was still several miles away.  Another day that we will never forget!  

The Enchantments 6/14/15

We went up to the Enchantments, climbed a peak, spent the night and climbed another peak before heading back down to the valley below.  

Dragontail Peak reflected in Colchuck Lake.  It never disappoints!

Jim, Doug, Ron and Dan on top of 8,840' Dragontail Peak.

One of many mountain goats strolling through our camp.

Perfection Falls spilling into Perfection Lake.

Ron (and Doug) near the summit of 8,364' McClellan Peak looking down on the Snow Lakes.

Prusik Peak, The Temple and the Lower Enchantment Lakes.

Little Annapurna, Dragontail Peak and the Upper Enchantment Lakes.

Another mountain goat visiting our camp.