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Date Created: 06/02/09

Last Updated: 06/02/09

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.

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.

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.

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.

Vert Tracker

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People die skiing in the backcountry every year. Avalanches, crevasses, trees, human error, weather, tree wells, among other things can kill you in an instant. Use this guide at your own risk, we are not responsible for any wanker getting all wanked up in the wankin' backcountry. That being said, even the most experienced backcountry skier can get caught off guard. Take avalanche classes, carry a beacon, probe, shovel and avalung AND KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. Just because you buy them, doesn't mean you get magical powers of invincibility. Many people who own beacons have no clue how to operate them. More importantly than any gear you can buy, you need to know how to safely travel in avalanche terrain, minimize potential hazards, and interrupt how weather affects the snowpack. This requires time and experience. Learn from others, be safe and courteous, and when in doubt go home and live to ski another day. The amount of snow needed to be dug up to rescue a buried victim, on average weighs right around an actual ton. In North America 25% of victims die from hitting trees, rocks, and other sharp unforgiving surfaces. It only takes one miscalculation to have the mountains kick your ass. Just because you see tracks or someone else skiing a line, does not mean you should ski it. Remember, individual actions affect all of us. Take care of each other out there, we are all on the same team.