Adams Family
The Adams Family - Class 4
Kristi and I have climbed Mount Adams twice now. The lions share of the images in this gallery are from our July 2020 trip however there are a few from August 2015.
Date: 07/01/2020
Partner: Kristi Henes
TH: Willow Creek
Summits: Mt. Adams, PT13552B, PT13543A, PT13543B, PT13533, PT13159
Miles: 21
Vertical: 7770
Difficulty: Class 4
GPX
The Adams Family!!! The ridge across (NE) from Kit Carson and Challenger offers high quality class 3 & 4 scrambling, fun route finding and world class views. Not to mention a great route to knock off 5+ peaks in a single day. We traversed south to north and added PT13552B at the end for good measure.
As an extra bonus we ran into Natalie(aka Snow Alien) on the hike back to the TH. Turns out she did the same traverse we did except from north to south :-)
Date: 8/24/2015
Partner: Kristi Henes
TH: Willow Creek
Miles: 15.7
Vertical: 9050ft
Difficulty: Class 3
GPX
From the town of Crestone we drove to the Willow Trailhead and hiked just under 5 miles to Willow Lake and setup camp. That night we took a sunset canoe cruise on Willow Lake. The next day we climbed Adams and Challenger. We decided against Kit Carson given weather. Good thing as it stormed on the way down. We camped that night and hiked back to the Willow Trailhead in the morning to find my truck had been broken into. Nothing stolen... as it was empty... but a $500 window was busted. Not so much fun.
Challenger Point 14ers.com Page
Mt. Adams 14ers.com Page
PT13552B 14ers.com Page
PT13543A 14ers.com Page
PT13543B 14ers.com Page
PT13533 14ers.com Page
PT13159 14ers.com Page
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From Willow Creek TH - 21miles - 7770ft
Willow Lake with Obstruction and Kit Carson to the South
2015: Kristi Enjoys a Sunset Birthday Cruise on Willow Lake
2015: Sunset Cruising
2015: Living Large on Willow Lake
Mount Adams' summit on the hike to the south side of the basin
Alex hiking to the top of the basin with Kit Carson and Obstruction dominating the views
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Kristi scrambling up on fun slabby rock
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The rock was solid and sometimes steep
Alex gaining the ridge as the Carson Group looks on
If you like ridges and views this is where you want to be
Kristi havin some fun with Mount Adams in the distance
Alex on PT13543A
Kristi hiking off the North side of PT13543A. PT13533 Just Ahead
Hiking up PT 13533 with PT13543A Behind
From PT13533 we poked around a bit and ended up dropping down a few hundred feet to the west, before traversing a bit more then regaining the ridge.
Kristi scouting gullies to descend
Alex dropping
A little booty scootin
After regaining the ridge, we found a red gully on the east side that led to a narrow saddle then back to the west side
Kristi descends the red gully
Alex climbing to the narrow saddle
More West Side Scrambling
Alex approaches PT13543B to close out the Sangre Bi-Cents
Now on to Mt. Adams. We aimed for the left(west) side of the summit block
There was plenty of fun scrambling on Mt. Adams' Rock Bands
Shooting for the Notch Between the Summit Blocks
Up and Over!
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Kristi Scrambles on Solid Rock in Adams' Notch Gully
Alex in the Notch Gully
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Kristi on the Final Pitch to Adams' Summit
Kristi Approaches Adams' Summit
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Oh Man!!!
Summit Selfie 2015
Summit Selfie 2020A
Summit Selfie 2020B
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Descending Adams' NW Ridge to PT13159. There was some tricky route finding to get off of Adams
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Descending NW off Adams. North Crestone Lake Below. PT13159 Ahead
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Kristi on the Adams PT13159 Saddle. PT13552B to the Left
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After Summitting PT13159 we headed to the Adams-PT13552B Saddle.
The hard icy snow to Kristi's right led to the saddle
Given the hard icey snow in the gully we scrambled up the rock on the right
From the saddle Alex climbed PT13552B. Kristi Descended to the Basin Where we met up an hour later
Views from PT13552B. Willow Lake Below
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Looking NW to South Crestone Lake from PT13552B
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Pano: The Ridge on the Left is Our Route.
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Heading down to the basin to meetup with Kristi at the lakes
There she is!
2015: Kristi in the basin with Adams front and center
2015: Kristi in the basin with the Carson Group Behind
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Willow Lake from Above
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Well... although they may be creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky... they were definitely fun. The Adams Family Delivered!!!














