Ever Wild: A Lifetime on Mount Adams

Darryl Lloyd
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the Cascades. The heavily glaciated northern faces are more rounded
in appearance and claim the most spectacular icefalls. On the west and
southwest faces, multiple summits rise steeply above smaller cirque glaciers
and avalanche cliffs. The relatively narrow south side—the only face
on the mountain shaped like a volcanic cone—is characterized by a series
of long, low-angle ridges with several rapidly diminishing glaciers.
Mount Adams is world-class in more ways than eruptive volume or
sheer grandeur. Six ecological regions have been mapped at different elevations
and sides of the mountain, and more than eight hundred forty
species of plants have been documented above the 4,000-foot elevation.
Exquisite parklands near timberline are ripe in summer with lush, flower-filled
meadows, cascading streams, and shimmering lakes. Expanses
of ground-hugging alpine tundra above timberline provide important
habitat for miniature plants, mountain goats, small mammals, and birds.
The broad forested belt—fragmented by logging, fires, and insect mortality—harbors
bear, elk, cougars, lynx, pine marten, and more elusive
carnivores that include wolverine, Cascade red fox, and wolf. There are still
hidden lakes without names or trails leading to them. Deep, glacier-carved
valleys on the eastern and western flanks have waterfalls and swamps that
are virtually unexplored.
From Mount Adams, dozens of vigorous streams drain radially in all
directions. Twelve glaciers, many permanent snow fields and countless
springs feed four rivers that flow into the Columbia River: Klickitat to the
east, White Salmon to the south, Lewis to the west, and Cispus (which
feeds the Cowlitz) to the north.
Such a magnificent mountain should have gained national recognition
long ago. Yet it remained overshadowed in attention and popularity by
neighboring rivals, Mounts Hood, St. Helens, and Rainier. Roads to these
three more popular volcanoes were far better a century ago than they are
today on Mount Adams. People who love the wildness of the mountain
aren’t complaining, though. We know that fewer visitors help keep it wild.
Even today, many of us simply stay away from the one route that is popular—the
South Spur or “South Climb”—where each summer thousands
gather to “bag” a relatively easy summit. Perhaps Ever Wild will inspire
climbers to better appreciate Mount Adams’ massiveness, complexity, and
splendor.
Despite its rank as second in height and volume among all peaks in
the Cascade Range, Mount Adams has taken a backseat to many other
Northwest mountains in terms of recognition and protection as a whole.
Never has there been a full-size book devoted to the diverse character and
uniqueness of Mount Adams. Most only know bits and pieces of its fascinating
human and natural history. I hope these pages, written and visual,
will fill important gaps in the knowledge and beauty of the colossus of
southern Washington.