Mt. Adams from Horn Lake...difficult?

[merrion13]

Wife & I were planning an overnight trip, camping at Horn Lake, climbing Adams via NE Ridge/SE Face then getting back to car. From the trip reports I've read it seems like a good Class 3, but then saw in one of my books the author rating difficulty at 9 out of 10? Can anyone who has done this share some insight on their thoughts and if this is a very difficult peak from that approach?

[doggler]

Wife & I were planning an overnight trip, camping at Horn Lake, climbing Adams via NE Ridge/SE Face then getting back to car. From the trip reports I've read it seems like a good Class 3, but then saw in one of my books the author rating difficulty at 9 out of 10? Can anyone who has done this share some insight on their thoughts and if this is a very difficult peak from that approach?

Hard to answer without some perspective, i.e. what do you and your wife constitute as 'hard'?

While not perfect comparisons, I would say the route you speak of is comparable to Sneffels via its standard route but with a longer apprach. Maybe Lindsay by its standard route (not as loose though), or Uncompahgre from Matterhorn TH, which feels a whole lot longer than from Nellie TH. Simple for some folks, extremely challenging for others. Routefinding isn't too terribly complicated.

[flyingmagpie]

merrion13--
I think Roach's 13er book is a good source on this one. He rates the climb to Horn Lake as 10 miles, Class 1. He rates the climb from Horn Lakes to the summit as Class 2+ and another 2 miles. You need Roach's description to help you find a "surprising grassy ledge" that will take you the easiest way to the top of the summit block. I have not done the route from this side. I climbed Adams from the Willow Lake side. I have gone to Horn Lakes many times, however. Most recently, I climbed Little Horn Peak and descended via the Horn Lakes basin. Check out my trip report for some photos of the area. You will find the best camping spots to be on level ground in old growth trees just south of the smallest, furthest north Horn Lake, which is tucked into its own little fold of mountain, lower than the other lake. Camping overnight and climbing the next morning certainly ought to make this route not as hard as doing it as a dayhike. I know from personal experience that the hike to Horn Lakes always feels longer than it is, and is tiring. Doing the hike and climb the same day would be hard. Looking at the climbing on the ridge from a distance, I wouldn't describe it as 9 in difficulty on a scale of 1-10. The guy who did this report must have done something wrong, like not finding the magical ledge. Here is one thing to be aware of though: quite a few years ago there was a fatality on this route, and the death wasn't just an ordinarly Joe climber. He was experienced, and a member of the Board of Custer County SAR. So under the wrong weather conditions, this route is not completely benign by any means. You need to be capable, and you need to pay attention to what you are doing--just as on any climb with exposure. I think the crux is the summit block. Adams has a unique summit block. From a distance, it looks hard. And if you don't find the right way, I think it probably IS hard.

[merrion13]

This is great info, thank you both for the replies.

We have some good experience with climbing on rock and will definitely be tuned in to the weather on summit day.

[flyingmagpie]

Thinking about it some more, I remembered a really good trip report that gives you an idea of the obstacles on the ridge. Believe it or not, the report involves a winter climb (January 2012), but the photos really give you an idea of the difficulties. The trip report was posted by geojed on this site.

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... ki=Include" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If the link doesn't work, just look it up yourself. The fatality I wrote about in my prior response was a climber who had actually written one of the first hiking/climbing guides of the Sangres. Tragic. Makes you wonder what happened up there on Adams that day.

Good luck! Adams offers really spectacular views.

[SurfNTurf]

I wrote a TR on this route from Labor Day last year. As noted in the text, I found trying to keep the route at Class 2+ annoying. We stayed close to ridge proper on some easy Class 3 sections on the way down and it was much more enjoyable. Maybe one short burst of Class 4. Trying to think of something to compare it with, I keep on coming back to The Sawtooth or the 13er Matterhorn Peak (grass slog and all).

[JeffR]

If you stay to the north side of the ridge (until an obvious crossover near the summit), it's mostly 2+ with a small dash of 3.

[James Dziezynski]

If it helps, this route is in my book I've done it a few times. The hike in to the basin is easy enough (I love the camping there, especially since you can see the lights of Westcliffe). The climb to the summit is some real work -- first a grunty, 1,000 vertical ft. push up to the start of the ridge. Then the fun begins! The trick here is finding the class 3 stuff -- it's always there but it alternates from side to side of the ridge. Staying head on is class 4 with perhaps a class 5 move here or there, but the rock is good. The summit block is an easy scramble up as well.

If you have more questions, feel free to PM me -- I can send along pictures or other thoughts.