Mount Shuksan via Fischer Chimneys

We drove up Friday night, and after further discussion we chose to stay near Glacier in order to obtain a backcountry camping permit before heading out.

With permits in hand, we left the trailhead before 10 am. We made good time to Lake Anne where we took a short break and analyzed the route description and studied the path that lay ahead. The traverse above the crevasse field on Upper Curtis Glacier was clear to see, however we couldn't be sure where the Fischer Chimneys began. 

The yellow spray painted arrow eluded us, but we did spot the lowest rappel station. The scramble up the chimneys was super fun. A few short dispersed sections of 4th class, but juggy holds were plentiful wherever there was exposure. From Lake Anne to the top of the chimneys took just under 3 hours.

We found a dry bivy spot big enough for 4 near the top of the White Salmon Glacier. While we settled into our bivies I was reminded of the 20% chance of rain in the forecast when dark storm clouds descended on Baker and to the north.  While we ate dinner a group of 5 down-climbed the steep slopes just above or camp. We chatted with them while they transitioned from Glacier to rock gear, then went right to sleep, ready for a 2am wakeup call.

We roped up at the Upper Curtis Glacier, crossing above the only real crevasse danger of the day and then started up Hells Highway. Temperatures at camp remained above 30 degrees overnight, so kicking steps was easy.

The sun hit Mount Baker as we moved onto the Sulphide Glacier, but stayed behind the Summit Pyramid while we approached. A few rope teams ahead of us were ascending what snow remained in the SW gully. We opted for the ridge scramble which added some some time, but occasional sunshine took the edge off of the icy glacier breeze. For once I can agree with Beckey's description of class 3 scrambling . Juggy holds were plentiful despite the occasional exposure.

We took some great shots on the summit  with the banner, but found no register. After a lengthy stay we made 3 raps with a bit of down-climbing between each station. 70 meters of rope would have been nice here.

We tied in again below Hells Highway to cross above the glacier cliffs on the way back to camp where we packed up slowly 4 more raps brought us to the bottom of the Chimneys. The sun baked down on us as we inched our sore feet past Lake Ann and up the 900 feet climb back to the trailhead.

Glacier Peak in 48 hours: Type two fun, defined 3-7-2015

Tahoma was the first epic plan for the weekend, but the road to Sunrise is still gated at Crystal and I've got my heart set on the Emmons.  Colin assured me that 3 full days for Glacier Peak is overkill, so we recruited Camille and hit the North Fork Sauk River Trail just after 7 on Friday night. We were aware that there is no camping allowed on the ridge at White Pass,  but unaware of 2 campgrounds in the basin to west. We set up camp at the Mackinaw Shelter at 10 and planned for a 3 am wake-up call.

After a slow breakfast we started up the 28 switchbacks to the PCT. Snow appeared around 5000' and covered the long traverse to White Pass. We put on crampons for the last mile or so, following some ski tracks above steep slopes. We stopped at a few spots of melted out trail to watch the rising sunlight on Sloan Peak and the Monte Cristo Group behind us. The skiers whose tracks we followed were camped at the pass. We exchanged pleasantries while taking a break before continuing on. We quickly agreed to change into snowshoes after a few some post-holing.

When we reached the saddle two peaks west of Point 6770 our distant target finally appeared across the White Chuck Glacier.  Crampons went back on for the traversing descent down the shady side of the ridge. They were again traded for snowshoes as soon as we hit the sun baked glacier. It was getting late in the day, and I was intent on making up for lost time on the way to High Camp but snow conditions were just not cooperating.

 When we reached High Camp we melted snow and reassessed. Camille decided that she would wait behind so we planned to return by 5, giving us 4 hours for the round trip. This would turn out to be a hopelessly optimistic plan. The Cool Glacier looked smooth as butter, and Colin was confident we could avoid the few crevasses he saw last summer so we left or rope and harnesses. We plonked our snowshoes into the edge of the Cool as the sun left it and hauled ass across to the next saddle, pausing once to watch rock peel away from the east face of Disappointment Peak.

On the north side of the glacier we met 2 skiers on their way down. It was nearly 5 o'clock, our planned return time to Camille at High Camp. We were moving far too slow,  but i could not resist the summit fever. One look into Colin's eyes and I knew that no discussion was necessary, and we continued on. The next 1000 feet came and went at a painfully slow pace. Colin was lagging behind but I kept moving as the sun began to set behind Mount Pilchuck. I ascended the final stretch between rime-covered rock and stepped onto the summit in time to catch the last few minutes of sunlight.

Colin joined me and we wasted no time before starting the descent. It was 6:15. We were a little worried about Camille, and regretting or decision to continue on. A single headlamp could be seen on the White Chuck, so we flew back down to High Camp as quickly as ore legs would carry us. We were both getting low on water and wanted to catch Camille in case she took the stove with her. Regardless of our choice to continue past our agreed return time, it would have been wise to further discuss contingencies before splitting up our group. Colin was hopeful that Camille would still be waiting for us, but when an hour after sunset we were still below the short elevation gain back to High Camp I knew that was a long shot. I couldn't blame her if she had to get moving to stay warm, or worse that she assumed something had gone wrong. I started to feel terrible for putting our friend in such a position.

We were elated to find the stove waiting for us, although it was now clear that we would be chasing Camille back to camp. After quickly depleting or fuel we quickly repacked and headed back as moonlight descended upon the White Chuck Glacier. This was the beginning my separation with Colin.  I would stop each time his light was lost behind me, but by the time he reached me my toes began to freeze, and I was growing more concerned that Camille might decide to continue past camp in search for help.

We post-holed most of the way across the White Chuck, too stubborn to switch to snowshoes yet again. This was a poor decision as the rapidly cooling surface grew less consistent, breaking randomly under every third or fourth step. The final ascent and return to White Pass was grueling. When I noticed it was 1 am, I waited for Colin to catch up one final time. I  expressed my concern that at the rate we were going, we wouldn't reach camp until nearly 3 o'clock. Colin was moving as fast as he could safely and we agreed to split up so that I could reach Camille asap.

When I returned to camp I was relieved to find Camille fast asleep. My attention to immediately turned to hot food but the filter was with Colin and I was not excited at the prospect of boiling water from the creek, so I drank my last sip of water and crawled into my bag to await his return. I awoke with my headlamp still on as Colin joined us in the tent and we both passed out, no longer concerned with dinner.

 When I woke up naturally at 7 Colin asked me what the hell I was thinking and Camille opened her eyes long enough to smile at the realization that we were back safe. They both promptly went back to sleep until I roused them at 2 p.m. to suggest we break camp and get back to Granite Falls while Playa Bonitas was still open. On our way out the trail seemed to have grown since we last traveled it less than 48 hours prior. Like I said - "Type 2 fun, defined.

Mount Adams via the Mazama Glacier 9-6-2014

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Last weekend I climbed Mount Adams via the Mazama Glacier with The Mountaineers. After seeing the lunch counter and the masses ascending from it I am very glad to have had the opportunity to use the less traveled approach from within the Yakima Nation.



We hiked in from the trailhead near Mirror Lake on Saturday and set up in completely empty established sites at the base of the Mazama Glacier. The weather was warm and skies were clear besides some approaching wildfire smoke.

2014-7-26 Sloan Peak

View 2014-7-26 Sloan Peak in a larger map

So I plan on filling in the missing reports from the last few months when I can find the time, but I can't wait to post about this last climb . I joined the rest of the Tacoma Mountaineers group at the Sloan Peak climbing trailhead along Road 49 late Friday night and slept in the truck. We were on the trail by 5:10 am. The first few creek crossings were minor, but the last one proved a fair obstacle. The long tree across the creek was somewhat twisted and pretty slick, so we butt-scooted slowly across one-by-one. All was going well until the final person to cross slipped and rolled under the log. Somehow Raphi was able to hold on and with a little help from Tim righted himself atop the log and made it across dry!




The trail was easy to follow despite thick brush covering much of it below 4000'. The summit ridge finally come into view and soon after we climbed above the clouds and took a rest on a narrow knob around 4200'. We continued along the well-worn bootpath and up the sharp NE ridge, crossing a few small snowfields along the way. Glacier Peak was closer than I have ever seen it, adding detail to the massive namesakes covering it's slopes.





As we climbed I watched Mount Pugh and then White Chuck appear over the shoulder of Bedal Peak behind us. Before long Sloan Glacier appeared below the summit massif and the bootpath faded into rock and snow. Tim mentioned that there were far more open crevasses and exposed rock than when he had climbed Sloan earlier in the season last year. The ropes came out and we sectioned them off and tied in, checking each others set-ups before stretching out onto the glacier. We navigated around a few small crevasses and Tim set pickets in two spots with some significant exposure for a running belay.





My serious roped glacier travel was great fun but ended all too soon as where the bootpath continues on the other side. We dropped our harnesses and winded up the path past some extreme exposure. The last 200 feet included some fun scrambling on mostly solid rock. We took our time in a few places to avoid knocking rocks down. The summit had just enough room for the seven of us to share snacks and pass around the register. Views from the top were stellar in all directions!








We carefully descended to the glacier, and retraced our steps. After packing up ropes and harnesses we all enjoyed a few glissades before final 4 mile trek back to the cars. Just below the narrow knob, we passed a group of 4 on their way up, one of whom I would later learn was Bob Bolton. We reached the trailhead after just over 13 hours, then hightailed it into Granite Falls for some much deserved Mexican Food.






13 miles round trip 5900' elevation gain

Last weekend was Field Trip #3 (Snow #1) with the Tacoma Mountaineers Basic Climbing Course. The class met at Longmire on Saturday morning and after a 3 hour delay due to the snow plows, our vehicle train was winding up the mountain road to Paradise. I had never been so close to Big Tahoma from the South but a dismal forecast kept my expectations low for any scenery we might experience. Being early spring, this first field trip in the snow is more often than not blessed with crappy weather, allowing for a better chance of sunshine on the next trip to Paradise (FT#5-Crevasse Rescue) in June.



Shortly after noon our party of around 60 were breaking trail through deep, fresh powder. My thanks to all those students wise enough to bring snowshoes, you saved us a lot of post-holing! Snowflakes continued to fall with increasing size throughout the day. After quickly setting up camp we broke into teams and headed up to some modest slopes for practice and testing of our ice ax arrest techniques. Easily my favorite part of the trip, we built glissade chutes and practiced arrests from various fall positions. After testing we ran through the standing ice ax-carabiner belay and proper anchoring technique with a snow picket. Back at camp we prepped for simulated glacier travel in the morning before  being excused to our tents.



That night I had my first experience cooking with white gas. Colin's whisper-lite stove seemed a little finicky, but after losing fire once and experimenting with the pressure pump, I am sold on the added efficiency in cold temps and at high elevation. While I boiled water for dinner and hydration several inches of fresh snow accumulated on the base of our rain fly. This forced some maintenance to the tent site as we were expecting close to another foot over night. In addition to glacier travel, I learned a lot on this trip about proper snow camping techniques. There is a fine balance between the size of a vestibule trench, effective anchorage, space to move around the outside, and sufficient room for shedding snow to accumulate without burying the tent. The most important lesson here: be adaptable and resilient.



In the morning my group was geared up and harnessed in before 4 a.m., ready to begin "up the glacier" in two rope teams of 3.  We practiced belaying each other out of camp and up the glissade chutes using prusiks, then simulated falls for each other to test ice ax arrests of the rope team. Throughout the simulation I found rope management (not stepping on it with crampons, and pacing with the group) to be the most complicated part, requiring constant attention to detail. On the way down we went through passing a running picket belay and then un-roped to test our ability to construct various bombproof anchors in the snow including the "dead man" and bollard. It was around this time when we were treated with a short break in the clouds. Big Tahoma emerged from the white and sunshine warmed our skin for the first time in days. Our instructor Scott was kind enough to pause the course work for a few minutes while we all enjoyed the brief weather change.



Finally we built emergency snow shelters. I was a bit disappointed that we lacked the time and proper snow conditions to dig a snow cave, but our little trench with an emergency blanket for a roof sufficed for the grade. While we broke down camp Pinnacle Peak and a few other Tatoosh Peaks broke through clouds to the south. By the time we had broken camp and started back, it has stopped snowing and the sun was out to stay. Before leaving we gathered for a much more realistic demonstration of the Z-pulley technique for crevasse rescue (the first demonstration was at the Seattle facility on carpet), which I look forward to practicing myself with Colin and a few others after our next adventure in the snow.



This weekend was a blast! Many thanks to all of the instructors for volunteering their time and subjecting themselves to crappy weather. You make it all possible!