Either I go this coming Sunday (7/1) or I let them go -- I couldn't bear with the latter decision throughout the long drag of the approaching summer season without skiing. My backcountry skiing nature would suffer every morning when getting the glimpse of the chutes while getting up and looking out of my bedroom window. Waiting an other 12 month to ski this route is not the option. The trailhead is only a 1-1/2 hour drive from my front door, having that advantage, I'm able to enjoy a good Saturday evening dinner with the family and leave the house at around 7PM. This year I'll climb and ski solo, at least sort of solo, the south route to the summit of Mt. Adams known as Suksdorf Ridge, is a very populated route, as is the campground at the trailhead at Cold Springs. It appeared to me while driving into that place that a 100 cars have been parked and spread out in the woods when I arrived later that evening, trying to find a nice level spot to park the van.

One group just pulled out at my arrival and left for home, this momentarily available parking space will be my perfect sleeping spot. I organized my gear for the next day's climb, opened a cold beer and sunk down into my camping chair for relaxation. The place seemed busy this evening, climbers still returning from the mountain, cars pulling out, new groups driving up and all that on top of a composition of an interesting noise mix of distinctive sounds like tent zippers, route chatting at the neighbors place and the hissing sound of a propane stove heating up someone's dinner. Parts of a conversation close by came to my ears, I wasn't certain, but I thought I snapped a few German words out of the exotic mix of noise level. Curious as I am, I grabbed my beer and started sneaking around in the campground in the hope of locating the source. And of course I was correct, a couple just across my spot was having a conversation with a gentleman in German, he said briefly "Hallo" and shortly after he disappeared somewhere in between the maze of tents and cars. This encounter was continued with an extended chat in our native language with my neighboring couple from Germany, actually Bavaria but living now in Portland. I slurped an other cold beer and went to bed a little bit later.

The place got busy again early the next morning. When I crawled out of my night camp at 5AM most of the climbers, mountaineers and skiers already left for the mountain. I was not in a great hurry, the night was cold, partly cloudy skies in the weather forecast and the chutes are known for getting late sun. From previous trip reports that week throughout some well known Internet resources, the chutes are often described icy in the upper part before noon. When I leave at 6AM that should give me plenty of time to hike up to Pikers Peak and hopefully by then the corn is just soft enough for a fast run down the 4000 vertical feet. I took my time while ascending, a short 'power' nap at the top of Lunch Counter, a very busy place as well, overpopulated with tents, gave me new energy for the last steep climb to the false summit. I watched the circus from my resting place for a while until I jumped into the crowd-movements up and down the slope, keeping me entertained for an other 90 minutes till I reached the top of the SW Chutes.

It was cold up here, the snow was frozen, big ice cycles shaped and sized like carrots are growing against the fierce and moisture loaden west winds. Between the forming ice sculptures a rough blanket of fresh snow took place over the usual early summer corn cover. Not an inviting place for a rest to wait out the fast moving clouds, enclosing the top of the mountain. An other weather window might open up in 15 minutes maybe in a half an hour, who knows when, but the chances are positive. I investigated the snow surface in the entrance of the chutes in the hope of finding some ski tracks from today, either nobody skied it yet or the wind has blown them away. The surface ice kept me a little bit sceptic if it is a good idea to drop in only by myself. But the waiting turned out to be the best decision I've made. While I was having a little snack in a wind sheltered spot, an other skier approached me asking for the entrance to the chutes. I recognized him, he was the gentleman I met briefly last night, saying "Hallo" to me in German. Now there was a connection, he took his skis off, sat down next to me, had a snack too and we chatted a bit about everything with a strong focus on mountains, climbing, skiing and the places he spend in Europe. He shouted out for his 3 friends standing at the edge of the mountain looking down, "c'mon over here", let's wait out the weather". They all came over enjoying a snack as well and a while later the clouds broke up and we were back to visibility unlimited or to be more realistic, visibility at least 4,000 feet vertical downhill. Finally the moment of clicking into the bindings arrived.

The icy crust appeared more scary to me as it was to ski. Surprisingly the first couple of hundred feet only and after that followed by butter-corn, all the way down the chutes until they mellow out in steepness. This turned into a fast-turning corn fest, good skiing company and lot's of photos.

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