1. Home
  2. 2020 Trip Reports
  3. Mount Adams

Mount Adams

Statistics

  • Date - 06/20/2020
  • Elevation - 13,931'
  • Route - West Ridge
  • Miles - 11.0
  • Elevation Gain - 5,300'
  • ACME Mapper - Link
  • CalTopo - Link
  • Partners - Not Applicable

Description

I climbed the west ridge of Mount Adams, a Colorado Centennial Peak with an elevation of 13,931'.  Mount Adams was my final high 100 peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range.  This was the single biggest day I have had for elevation gain since 2013 when I completed the Halo Ridge on Mount of the Holy Cross.  I used the Willow Lake approach from the west side of the range.  This was my third time to Willow Lake.  I hiked past it in 2004 on my way to climb the Kirk Couloir to Kit Carson Peak and Challenger Point.  In 2008, a group of us hiked to Willow Lake in early April in order to ice climb the falls on the far side of the lake.

I started hiking in the dark at 3:45 am and made it to Willow Lake at 6:15 am.  I took a break, enjoyed the views, and checked my blood sugar level a few hundred feet above the lake.  Route-finding is not difficult after leaving the trail and I was on the 12,900' saddle between Mount Adams and Point 13546 at 7:30 am.  As I started up the west ridge another party of two aborted their attempt due to vertigo by one of the individuals.  I stayed on the ridge for the upper half of the climb, which involved more class 3 scrambling.  I reached the summit at 8:40 am.  It essentially took me five hours to go approximately five miles and 5,000'.

I got cold quickly on the summit and returned back to the saddle in short order.  The descent back to Willow Lake went smoothly also.  I layered down at the lake and prepared for the long walk out.  There was a lot of activity on the trail and the hike began to wear on me as the miles added up.  Positively, I hydrated well all day and didn't bonk.  I completed the hike in 8 hours and 15 minutes car-to-car.  I stopped at a few breweries on the way home to add to my sticker collection.

Photos

I took this on the way to the trailhead the night before.San Luis ValleyWaterfallWillow LakeMount AdamsSummit PhotoMount AdamsKit Carson Peak and Challenger Point