This is a route that I had been wanting to do few about 4 years but the stars never quite aligned and I chose to either go to the North Cascades or the smoke was too bad. I finally decided to get out there to train for an upcoming route.
After sleeping at the Killen Creek trailhead, I woke up to a cloudy day and was worried about visibility on the mountain. Adam's isn't a mountain to be on when the weather takes a turn. The day turned golden as soon as I got above the treelike and the blue skies were revealed to me. I quickly started heading towards the ridge but got a little off route. It added about 10 extra minutes of time. I refilled at a lake just below the ridge and started heading up. The North Cleaver of Adams may look intimidating from below, but once you're on it, it more or less has a climbers path going up. There is one section that may call for a few moves of class three due to the loose nature of the rock, but it isn't too bad. The views are also spectacular with the Adams and Lava Glaciers on each side. There is a water source near the summit plateau but it was quite silty and I need there was water below the summit, so I moved forward onto the plateau. The views of the Adams Icefall are wild.
Once on the false summit, I stopped and took a long break, talking with some climbers heading up and enjoying the views. Once I got to the Round-The-Mountain Trail, it was time to cruise. I ran into a buddy that had been circumnavigating Adams counterclockwise. Finally, I reached the PCT and cruised back to the trailhead in a time of 10:33.
I know others have done this route but I haven't seen any times faster than this. This time is still quite soft when accounting for getting off route in the beginning, taking photos, and talking with other climbers. IT would be cool to see how fast this route can be done. Overall, better than I expected and one of the better routes in southern Washington!