#13 Mount Adams 13,931 ft.
Date: May 20, 2014
Team: Christy, Dav, Ted, Shane Robinson
Route: Northwest Face
Mount Adams rises above the town of Crestone, in a region of the Sangre de Cristo mountains that contain some of the most impressive summits in the state. Many climbers and peak baggers are familiar with the local 14ers— the Crestones and Kit Carson— but if you’re heading to the area with skiing in mind, Mount Adams should be at the top of your list.

The Northwest Face of Mount Adams. We skied our ascent route, indicated.
As with most peaks in the area, the trailheads are low and the approaches long. All four sides of this pyramidal mountain are steep, and with the right spring snowpack, there are ski options on nearly every aspect. And they’re all fairly committing.

It was several hours of approach to South Crestone Lake seen here.

Good cramponing on frozen snow took us all the way to the summit.
We approached Mount Adams from the west, via South Crestone Lake. From just above the lake the triangular Northwest Face comes into view and presents several options for climbing and skiing, either on ridges or directly up its face. We chose the latter, the NW aspect of the direct face wouldn’t get sun until the afternoon, so we had time to make the long approach (5100 vertical feet from the trailhead) before the snow softened.

To the south were Humboldt, the Crestones, Kit Carson, and the Centennial we skied this time last year, Columbia Point.

We have a lot of memorable summits together.

The winds weren’t letting up, so we began our ski with the snow still firm.

The three of us were really thrilled to get this one done in such a fun fashion.

A little Dav POV
We anticipated Adams to be one of the more serious peaks on the Centennial list, and that proved to be the case. It was nearly 1500 vertical feet of firm, steep snow, which thanks to the wind didn’t soften a whole lot for the ski. But it was a gorgeous day, and an awesome summit with massive views.

Pages
- #1 Grizzly Peak – 13,988 ft.
- #2 Stewart Peak -13,983 ft.
- #3 Columbia Point – 13,980 ft.
- #4 Pigeon Peak – 13,972 ft.
- #5 Mount Ouray – 13,971 ft.
- #6 Ice Mountain – 13,951 ft.
- #7 Fletcher Mountain – 13,951 ft.
- #8 Pacific Peak – 13,950 ft.
- #9 Cathedral Peak – 13,943 ft.
- #10 French Mountain – 13,940 ft.
- #11 Mount Hope – 13,933 ft.
- #12 Thunder Pyramid – 13,932 ft.
- #13 Mount Adams – 13,931 ft.
- #14 Gladstone Peak – 13,913 ft.
- #15 Mount Meeker – 13,911 ft.
- #16 Casco Peak – 13,908 ft.
- #17 Red Mountain – 13,908 ft.
- #18 Emerald Mountain – 13,904 ft.
- #19 Horseshoe Mtn. – 13,898 ft.
- #20 “Phoenix Peak” – 13,895 ft.
- #21 Vermillion Peak – 13,894 ft.
- #22 Cronin Peak – 13,870 ft.
- #23 Mount Buckskin – 13,865 ft.
- #24 Vestal Peak – 13,864 ft.
- #25 Jones Mountain – 13,860 ft.
- #26 North Apostle – 13,860 ft.
- #27 Clinton Peak – 13,857 ft.
- #28 Dyer Mountain – 13,855 ft.
- #29 Crystal Peak – 13,852 ft.
- #30 Mount Edwards – 13,850 ft.
- #31 California Peak – 13,849 ft.
- #32 Mount Oklahoma – 13,845 ft.
- #33 Half Peak – 13,841 ft.
- #34 Atlantic Peak – 13,841 ft.
- #35 Hagerman Peak – 13,841 ft.
- #36 Turret Peak – 13,835 ft.
- #37 PT 13,832
- #38 Holy Cross Ridge – 13,831 ft.
- #39 Jupiter Mountain- 13,830 ft.
- #40 “Huerfano Peak” – 13,828 ft.
- #41 Jagged Mountain – 13,824 ft.
- #42 “Lackawanna” – 13,823 ft.
- #43 Mount SiIverheels – 13,822 ft.
- #44 Rio Grande Pyramid – 13,821 ft.
- #45 Teakettle Mountain – 13,819 ft.
- #46 PT 13,811 – 13,811 ft.
- #47 Dallas Peak – 13,809 ft.