Route:  Mt Adams/S Route Winter
Climbed:  March 17 1995


Party: Eric Gail, Charles, Ted


day 0 (3/16) Parked on road 8040(?) at ~3000 ft, when car got stuck in
snow filled ditch.

day 1 (3/17) Up at 4 am.  Hiking at 5 am.  Road well covered with
snow.  Lunch at Timberline (didn't find Timberline camp proper).  Head
up toward South Bute.  Stop at 3pm at ~7500.  Dig snow cave in snow
drift.

day 2 (3/18) Up at 6:15.  Fog and blowing snow.  30ft visibility.
Travel impossible, decide to stay in camp.  Do try to ski in the
afternoon - can't see a thing and I ski onto a 45deg slop (safe
runout) and fall.

day 3 (3/19) Up at 1:15 to pee.  Find the entrance to the cave filled
with snow.  Poking around with a shovel does not clear it.  Put on my
rain gear at start digging up.  2 ft above door and still not out.
Air feels low in oxygen - I'm feeling a little panicked.  Get a ski
poll and poke up, breaking through 3 ft above door.  Shovel more till
I get a tunnel I can stand up in.  Pop out in to wind and blowing snow
- safe.  Start digging back into cave.  Eric and I clear a pit 5'X5'
in front of door.  Back to bed at 2:15.  Alarm goes off at 3:15, check
door and find it mostly filled.  Charles gets up and digs for a while,
then rests in his rain gear.  Checks again at 4 am and finds the
entranced closed again.  4:30am: Charles can't keep up and Ted goes
out to help.  5:30am: Charles comes back in to say they can just keep
up with the snow, the sky is clearing, we should pack up and leave.
Eric and I pack our packs.  6:00am: Eric and I crawl out to take over
digging.  I find that the entrance is now an 8 ft pit in a new snow
bank.  Beautiful clear dawn, sunlight on Mt Adams, clear sky above.
Looks like 1ft of accumulation in general, but 8 ft of drifting snow
right where our doorway is.  7:00am: start ski descent.  Some packed
powder, some wind crust.  Beautiful rolling terrain with scattered low
trees.  Descend S from camp, which puts us in the trees to the E of
the road.  Turn to West and find road.  Back to car by 2pm.  Out of
ditch by 3:30pm and home by 11pm.





[Route description written by Tom Unger]