SOUTHWEST CHUTES | MOUNT ADAMS, CASCADES (SOUTHERN) WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES

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SOUTHWEST CHUTES
SOUTHWEST CHUTES
Date Created: 06/02/09
Last Updated: 06/02/09
Author:plankrider
Author Ranking:Premier
Rate Content Quality:No rating yet.
Avalache Terrain Rating:Challenging What's This?
Hardest Difficulty:Double Black what's this?
Average Difficulty:Black what's this?
Skiable Vert:4000+ ft
Climbing Vert:5900 ft
Top Elevation:11500 ft
Trailhead Elevation:5600 ft
Ascent Mileage:7
AVG Ascent Time:6-7 hours to Pikers Peak
Ascent Type:Bootpack, Skin, Easy Crampon/snow axe
Trees:none
Slope Aspect:Southwest
Steepest Section:35-45 Degrees
Slope Type:Chute, Couloir
Exit:Clean
First Descent:Hans-Otto Giese, Hans Grage, Sandy Lyons, Walter Mosauer, and Otto Strizek, 1932
Nearest Town:Trout Lake
AVG Snowfall:500+
Snowpack:Maritime

Highlights

A very long ski descent, that has a great fall line and continuous pitch of just over 35 degrees, some times nearly 40. An amazing spring ski! Put that together with a non-technical but long approach and this is a great moderate yet challenging ski mountaineering objective.

Ascent

Depending on the year the road to the trailhead will probably be snow covered until july. You can snowmobile in, but in late spring, early summer, it might be too spotty to do so. If you plan on camping and skiing the southwest chutes, camp in the Morrison Creek drainage. This will give you maximum skiing vertical. If you camp near the South Trailhead you have to ditch the chutes at around 8000 feet and head south to avoid a hideous bushwach. So as i said, whether you are camping or not head up the Morrison Creek drainage and it will be a wuicker ascent, and better descent. It however is not as safe from avalanche danger than the standard south ridge route. Study your topo map as it can be real easy to go up or get stuck in the wrong drainage or gullies. No matter what way you come in head towards the south face that takes you up to Pikers Peak which is the false summit that the chute stems off of. Climb the 2000 vert of the South Face and you can continue to bag the summit or just go for the chute, which will be on the southwest side of Pikers Peak right of the top of the false summit.

Descent

Ski this awesome line and bring your legs as this will take you a couple minutes to ski down! Depending on where you camped or parked be sure to know when to exit the chute. If you came from the Morrison Drainage, just keep following the natural flow while bearing slightly skiers left to about 7000 ft. From here traverse to the next drainage and things should look familiar from there.

Access/Permits

Depending on the time of year you may need to pay for a permit from the Mount Adams ranger station. Otherwise you still need a permit, but don;t need to pay for it. The Ranger station is in Trout Lake. Parts of Mount Adams is in Wilderness.

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ALL LOCATIONS>>UNITED STATES>>WASHINGTON>>CASCADES (SOUTHERN)>>MOUNT ADAMS