Adams hike Sunday

[1SlowHiker]

I'm planning an up & down hike to Adams tomorrow. Airline all the way up and back, possibly Valley Way down. With a very remote chance of picking up Jeff via gulfside. From reports I guess the biggest concern is ice not snow. I have m-spikes, hillsound-pros and snowshoes. Think I should carry all 3 or can I leave the shoes behind? I don't mind carrying the shoes if there is any chance of using them. I'm planning an early (3-4am) headlamp start, I dont recall any difficulty with Airline that might be harder by headlamp and I don't recall or see on the map any crossings. Any thoughts or suggestions on equipment or alternate routes? Thanks

 

[Raven]

I'm planning an up & down hike to Adams tomorrow. Airline all the way up and back, possibly Valley Way down. With a very remote chance of picking up Jeff via gulfside. From reports I guess the biggest concern is ice not snow. I have m-spikes, hillsound-pros and snowshoes. Think I should carry all 3 or can I leave the shoes behind? I don't mind carrying the shoes if there is any chance of using them. I'm planning an early (3-4am) headlamp start, I dont recall any difficulty with Airline that might be harder by headlamp and I don't recall or see on the map any crossings. Any thoughts or suggestions on equipment or alternate routes? Thanks

No crossings to worry about and the trail is relatively steady and moderate in the sections you will be traveling in the dark. I would personally carry crampons and an ice axe. The crampons could be beneficial on ice flows especially in the upper half as well as above treeline depending on what you find. I don't know the ground conditions above treeline right now but if there is enough base, self arrest can be necessary on the slopes above King Ravine. YMMV.

See this: http://www.newhampshirelakesandmoun...survives_1500foot_slide_into_King_Ravine.html

Blaze just posted a report as I recall. Take a look. With the quality of his pictures, you should be able to get a good look at what you will find.

 

[richard]

Check out Ed Moran`s photos of Washington & Monroe from last sat. If conditions haven`t changed for the better, I would try something else.

 

[1SlowHiker]

Sounds like valley way may be better than Airline. To avoid the sliding down K ravine, would Star Lake Trail be an option?

 

[peakbagger]

I do not recommend Star Lake Trail as there are several steep pitches that have far more exposure than any spots on Airline. Keep in mind you can very easily swing over from Valley way to Gulfside and then the upper Airline.

 

[1SlowHiker]

Pb; got it thanks for heads up

 

[Raven]

Most of the time there are no issues on the route you are thinking, but not having crampons on the wrong day could be an issue. You are taking one of the safest routes now. If there was extended sliding potential above treeline, I would consider turning back. Most days other light traction besides crampons is probably adequate although conditions have been icy around the trails. I barebooted this route Christmas Day with no ice at all. Odd year.

 

[jniehof]

Hope you had a good trip, as this is too late for you. For others, I was much happier having crampons yesterday between the summit of Adams and Valley Way; microspikes may be doable but beyond my comfort zone.

Jefferson from that direction is pretty much 100% crampon required in my book (although I think I saw some folks with microspikes.)

 

[1SlowHiker]

Hope you had a good trip, as this is too late for you. For others, I was much happier having crampons yesterday between the summit of Adams and Valley Way; microspikes may be doable but beyond my comfort zone.

I’d call it a good trip, but only got to 5k ft and did not summit. Started at 4Am. Got to M hut in overcast conditions then started on Gulfside toward Airline. The pea soup overcast got worse and worse such that I could not see cairns until I was on top of them. When a couple of gust (40+ knots maybe) almost knocked me over I turned around ( ~0930) and found my way back to VW (with some difficulty). Part of rationale, a very small part, for turning around was that it seemed a waste to summit Adams without it's great views. Of course the skies cleared 1 ½ hrs later on my way down. But - if the wind didn’t come down a notch I still would have had a hard time submitting
Met a group of 4-6 backpackers coming down from VW tent site and they said it was clear Saturday and less windy. Met one solo hiker headed for Madison, and then met one large group of mostly bare boot hikers, also heading for Madison, struggling with the ice.
Micro-spikes where fine for going up Valley Way on the numerous ice flows. Ice was soft enough, and I heavy enough, to get good bite. I did change to Hillsound-Pros just before the hut and wore them down on the steeper sections until the roots started popping up then switched back to m-spikes.
Related to another post, there were half a dozen F&G (with a search dog I think) at the trail-head when I got down (12:30), but I didn’t sense any state of urgency.