diff --git a/src/axolotl/utils/models.py b/src/axolotl/utils/models.py
index 2c6bb4eab..5ed140b07 100644
--- a/src/axolotl/utils/models.py
+++ b/src/axolotl/utils/models.py
@@ -87,7 +87,6 @@ def load_model(
     base_model = cfg.base_model
     base_model_config = cfg.base_model_config
     model_type = cfg.model_type
-    adapter = cfg.adapter
 
     # TODO refactor as a kwarg
     load_in_8bit = cfg.load_in_8bit
@@ -359,7 +358,7 @@ def load_model(
                     if hasattr(module, "weight"):
                         module.to(torch_dtype)
 
-    model, lora_config = load_adapter(model, cfg, adapter)
+    model, lora_config = load_adapter(model, cfg, cfg.adapter)
 
     if cfg.ddp and not load_in_8bit:
         model.to(f"cuda:{cfg.local_rank}")